


Incident at Saris

by Charms7116



Series: Rik and Ren [1]
Category: Firefly, Star Wars - All Media Types, The Dark Crystal (1982)
Genre: Adventure, Aliens, Coming of Age, Gen, Grey Jedi, Inspired by Firefly, Inspired by Star Wars, Inspired from the Dark Crystal, Original Characters - Freeform, Psionic Powers, Science Fiction, Space Opera, spacecraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26770003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charms7116/pseuds/Charms7116
Summary: Naive alien brothers, Rik and Ren decide to leave their comfortable safe life and set out on their own as Freelancers. This is their first adventure.The story I admit is strongly inspired by both Star Wars and Firefly, but it is not taken in either of those universes although it could easily fit in both.Rik and Ren are original characters.And I thank anyone who reads or comments on this!Also please note I am Australian, so this contains Australian spellings.
Series: Rik and Ren [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951441





	1. Saris 3-Used Shipyards- 2952

> _**In everyone’s life, there is a time to break away, to start your journey, to become your own person, and it is time to take ours!** **Ren** _

Rik and his brother Ren were wandering through the used shipyards on Saris 3, which although one of the less pleasant moons of Saris Prime which was a gas giant, it was the ideal location to build and sell spaceships and that was why they were both there  
trying to find themselves a reasonably priced, second-hand freighter or cruiser which could be piloted by the two of them and that they could call their own, and use to travel around, go on missions and to help people and planets.  
  
Especially with a war currently raging across the universe and on all four dimensions, Rik had pointed out, that there was plenty of opportunity for a resourceful person, especially for two members of the Adept Order and their apprentice, who was also medically trained.  
  
On that note Rik and Ren had risked it all, and resigned from their comfortable and safe life as members of the Starship ‘ ** _Justice_** ’ and gone freelance, both deciding that it was time to do so, to find their way through life and start their own journey, Ren still wasn’t sure if it had been the right thing to do.  
  
“We need one that is big enough to store my Starfighter or your Shuttle on if need be,” Rik said to Ren as his brother checked what was available and in their decided price range.  
  
Ren said, “Hmm, there are a few possibilities, and a couple say that they need some minor repairs and maintenance”.  
  
Rik nodded “we can handle that”.  
  
“The best thing we can do is look at _all_ of them,” Ren said, “ and I guess we can always use your starfighter or my shuttle as extra collateral if we need too”.  
  
“Or both,” said Rik, he loved his Starfighter and Ren his Shuttle, Rik barely let anyone else fly his starfighter, it had been attuned to both him and Ren and altered to suit, Ren could fly it as well, but due to his brothers generally peaceful nature, he generally didn’t and preferred his shuttle.   
  
Ren loved his shuttle more, and like Rik neither of them was fond of using Teleporters much, they had gotten split up enough already they felt!   
  
They had been one being once called RikRen, but a freak accident had forced them to be split apart, into two separate beings, but it had left their soul linked, and although both of them preferred the way they were now, it had hurt and they didn’t like the idea of their molecules, been split up and reformed again, portals were fine, as well Gates but Teleporters; just **NO**!   
  
Besides, they could use their Psionic translocation ability to teleport from place to place (they ‘Orbed’ basically) if they knew their destination! It was an offshoot of their original power as one being. Also, they could float rather than walk at times if they needed to; it just took some concentration.  
  
Ren nodded “yes.”  
  
Rik said, “so what're our options?”  
  
Ren handed him the catalogue he’d been given, Rik looked it over and nodded “ _Hmm_ ”.  
  
“The Crasolian Light Freighter seems to be the best option, can be flown by two, but can crew six, we need room for Kayla to remember?” she was their apprentice, well she was more Ren’s, who was the stronger one out of the two of them when it came to the Way, not to mention he was a trained Medical Doctor and naturally a Healer (which was what they both were) whereas Rik was more of a Paramedic, and they had been recently assigned Kayla Doonsing a young Gorta-Trellian Healer who was currently a student in the Way to train, they both had had their eye on her for a couple of years and when asked whom they had wanted to train, they had both voted her.  
  
“Point,” he said “Ok, we’ll look at that one first”.  
  
Ren nodded and adjusted his robes, like Rik he was dressed as a member of the Adept Order, his robes also like Riks were altered to suit his oddly shaped form, although you couldn’t see it due to his robes, he was also tall at 5.8 or more so he usually hunched a bit.  
  
Ren was more humanoid in build, but like Rik, it was clear that neither of them was ‘ _near-human_ ’, humanoid maybe but **not** ‘ _near-human_ ’, they both looked more Saurian than human.  
  
Rik was angular, built for speed and looked like a mix of bird and dragon, Ren was more Draconic looking, with a long narrow face, a mane of reddish-brown hair that matched Riks in colouring, with two long arms and a heavy tail, and although he stood up straight he tended to hunch when walking and wasn’t that fast, built more for endurance rather than speed, he was as taller than Rik and longer and bigger and in many ways physically stronger, but despite all that he was fairly lean and agile, much more so than people gave him credit for, but where Rik was more action-orientated, Ren was the quieter, steadier one, they complimented each other and always had.  
  
Rik often said he would be lost without Ren by his side and he knew Ren thought the same, they drove each other nuts at times and had had some spectacular arguments at times, and they often had vastly different opinions, but they always came through for one another.  
  
Rik knew that he and Ren would disagree over the choice of ship, but they would find one, they both liked and worked out a compromise, Rik wanted speed, Ren wanted reliability, he wouldn’t care if it was slow and it be largely him who would make the final choice.  
  
They had decided together to get their own ship that they could call their own, one that would be ‘ _theirs_ ’ that they could use for missions and other things without having to rely on others, it’s just that **finding** the **perfect** ship would be the fun part!  
  
“We need a decent ship, one that will suit our purposes, “said Ren “and is reliable”.  
  
“Yeah” agreed Rik, they walked together through the shipyard, looking at some of the slightly higher priced ones as well.  
  
“Shame that is **way** out of our price range,” said Rik indicating a Cruiser.  
  
Ren nodded “one day maybe” he continued “ we wouldn’t be able to afford that, even with the collateral we have” he and Rik then paused for a long moment looking at the ship, their hair blowing in the wind.   
  
Saris Three was one of the less pleasant moons of Saris Prime’s four moons, all four moons were capable of sustaining life, and did, but not all of them had an ideal climate.   
  
Saris 4 was the jewel of the four moons, it was the biggest and it was where most of the population lived, it had a warm temperate climate nearly all year round, Saris 3 was a wild, rocky, windswept world, but provided the ideal conditions, and resources for shipbuilding, Saris 1 was the other more pleasant moon although it was heavily forested, and Saris 2 was mostly covered by snow and ice, it was beautiful but cold.  
  
Rik and Ren had found themselves alone and newly separated on Saris 4 it was where they had a residence and the Moon held a special significance to them both, it was their home.  
  
“Suppose we could also offer up our Villa for collateral as well if we need to as well,” said Ren thoughtfully “but that one is way beyond our price range Rik and you **know** that!”  
  
“Nice ship, though,” said Rik.  
  
“Yes,” said Ren “but no, not this time”.  
  
“I just hope we don’t end up with a clapped out ship that is badly in need of repair and maintenance, because it is **all** we can afford at the moment though” Rik grumbled, “ a little bit of luxury would be nice….!”  
  
Ren chuckled “we have been spending **way** too much time on the Justice! But you do have a point. I hope we don’t either”.  
  
For so many years, he and Rik had thought they’d been the only ones like their kind, but Fate had made them recently cross paths with others of a similar kind, and finally, they both felt that they had belonged somewhere, Ren had even agreed to become CMO on their ship for a while but seeing he was no longer needed in that role, that was one of the reasons **why** they were out ship hunting.   
  
Also, they were getting an Apprentice; they needed to make their living somehow!  
  
“How about this one?” said Rik pointing to another a little while later after walking around a bit more “I know it’s a little above what we intended to pay…. but”.  
  
Ren looked at it “that one is a possibility, five years old, crews up to 8, can be piloted by two but it’s also seen some action, definitely a possibility….well spotted Rik!”  
  
“I know it is slightly out of our….” He paused in mid-sentence then suddenly, seeming to see something and then without another word took off at a run.  
  
“Rik!” said Ren “where you going? And wait for me!”, cursing under his breath, Ren sighed and ran after his brother; he was slower than Rik.


	2. The Brothers Find their Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brothers find the perfect ship! or is the other way round? does she find them instead?

**H** e found Rik on his knees in front of a ship “ **yes**!” he said “I think I’m in love! This HAS to be the one!”  
  
“Um, Rik?” Ren asked.  
  
“Look at her Ren! She’s beautiful!” said Rik “it _must_ be this one! She’s been sitting here waiting for us to see her!”  
  
Ren looked at the ship not first recognising the ship's design, although he had to admit it was beautiful and there was something about it that was calling to him as well.  
  
“It’s a _**Sunrise**_!” said Rik “it’s Psionically sensitive, and there was only ever about fifty of them made if that! It’s Way sensitive, that is why we can both feel it, and why I noticed it as you were too distracted, it’s **perfect** for us! It’s a hybrid Cruiser-Freighter, I   
can fit my Fighter in the hold with its wings folded down or your shuttle, it can be flown by two, can crew up to 10 and can fly fast in cruiser mode, it’s beautiful! And its name ‘ _Serendipity_ ’ it’s perfect for us!”  
  
“It’s Sarisian,” said Ren “I didn’t think…. that these were still available” he closed his eyes “it is sentient”.  
  
He nodded “it’s Way-sensitive, Ren this is **our** ship! Please, Ren! Say yes! We _need_ this ship! We must **have** it!”  
  
Ren frowned “I can’t find it in the catalogue we were given”.  
  
Rik said “it’s _our_ ship! Look I’m willing to put everything we have in collateral to have her….”.  
  
Ren said, “ it is beautiful, and it does suit our needs, I wonder if we can make an offer for her” as they both wanted it “been Psionically sensitive would make it hard to move…seeing you do need one of the Order to fly one of these properly if I remember rightly, it is why they are so rare….” He paused “and you say you are willing to offer everything we have as collateral for her?”  
  
“I’d _sell_ my soul for this!” said Rik.  
  
“Our soul…. we share one remember?” Ren said, “sometimes I think you forget that, but we still share a soul”.  
  
“Well, **our** soul then!” said Rik.  
  
Ren chuckled “hopefully we don’t have to go that far! Our poor soul has been ripped apart and battered enough as it is! But ok, get her number and we will see if we can broker an offer for her”.  
  
Rik nodded, let out a happy hiss and impulsively hugged Ren “thanks so much Ren!”  
  
“Whoa watch your claws!” Ren said, “we’re given each other enough scars for a lifetime!” as Rik had claws, Ren did too, but his were shorter and blunter “ we will try to get the ship Rik, but do you want to look at anymore?”  
  
Rik said “no I **want this** one! Ren, can’t you feel it? she was _meant_ for us!”  
  
“Yes, I can feel it…. I was distracted before, but if we can’t afford her…,” said Ren, ever practical.  
  
“I’d sell our soul for her!” said Rik.  
  
“Ok, ok, we will see what we can do then,” said Ren.

**A** few moments later they were in the sales office talking to the salesperson, who looked them both up and down “Adept Knights?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” said Ren “ we’re interested in the _Sunrise_ ” he sat down “you have a Sunrise for sale, but she is not in our catalogue, so I was wondering if we could perhaps make an offer for her?”  
  
“You want the Sunrise?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” said Rik “we will make a good offer for it”.  
  
He said, “I admit I have had trouble getting people interested in it”.  
  
“You need a member of the Adept Order to fly it,” said Ren “or at least someone sensitive to such things” he paused “ we are of the Order, we are looking for a ship, and we would be more than willing to take it off your hands for you, and as my Brother says we will make a good offer and deal for it”.  
  
“Brother?” he asked, figuring they meant the Order, people of the Order were a little odd.  
  
“ _Please_!” Rik said.  
  
“We will make a good offer for her,” said Ren “if you are having trouble moving her…”.  
  
“I’ am, it's why she wasn’t in the catalogue".  
  
“you need someone like us to fly it, that’s probably why,” Rik said “and many Adepts are usually attached to a starship or something, but we would like to purchase her, and we will make a good deal for her” _Odd_ , those of the Order might be, but he knew that they were usually good at their word.  
  
“Well…” he said, “how much you willing to pay for her?”  
  
Ren said, “she is a little above what we originally agreed at and were looking at, but we can offer some collateral, Rik’s Starfighter, my Shuttle and well our Villa…if necessary”.  
  
“You do want her, don’t you?” he asked.  
  
Rik nodded “yes!” he was practically jumping up and down, and his tail was twitching a sure sign he was excited, nervous, or impatient.  
  
“What was your price range?” he asked.  
  
Ren told him “ _hmm_ ok, fair enough, like I said we have been having trouble getting anyone interested in her, tell you what, I’ll make you a deal…” the talked a bit longer and bargained a little (something Rik excelled at) and after a while, he asked, “ so do we have a deal?”  
  
Ren nodded “yes” beside him Rik hissed happily.  
  
“Ships yours then,” said the Salesman.  
  
“Yes!” said Rik, happily taking the access codes and that.  
  
Ren sighed, Rik was practically jumping up and down with joy, and hissing happily to himself, all in all, they had gotten off pretty lightly and hadn’t had to put his shuttle or Rik’s starfighter or even their house up for collateral, but it had cost them a year’s salary apiece, it was slightly above the price range that they had been looking at but not too much, they had been having trouble selling it.  
  
“Thank you so much!” Rik said to the Salesman.  
  
“Pleasure doing business with you,” he said, shaking both their hands, Rik was impatient to go, but Ren said, “we need to sign some stuff, Rik!”  
  
“Can’t you do it!” Rik grumbled eager to go to their new ship.  
  
Ren said, “we **BOTH** need to sign it!” Rik grumbled under his breath but sat back down; Ren had to smile; Rik was being typical ‘ ** _Rik_** ’!  
  
“I don’t see why you can’t just sign it…” he grumbled.  
  
Ren shook his head and smiled, and he said “you are part owner of it! especially seeing we have just spent a combined years’ salary on it!”  
  
“I guess,” said Rik.  
  
“I sure hope it was worth it,” Ren said as he settled down to sign some stuff, mainly transfer papers and the like, they both had the license to fly a ship up to the size of the Sunrise, and a license to carry and deliver goods and freight.  
  
“It will be,” said Rik.


	3. Meeting Sera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brothers get access to their new ship and meet the Ships amazing AI, Sera (Serendipity)

**A** bout an hour later the pair of them along with the transfer codes and that, they were walking through the shipyards towards their new ship, Ren still seemed a little unconvinced.  
  
Rik said “Ren it’ll pay off! You’ll see! With our ship, we can run jobs and that! they pay well for couriers willing to travel into the more dangerous areas to drop off supplies to occupied areas; we’re also Adept Knights and medically trained so that we can go   
on missions and the like, we also have an Apprentice to train as well remember?”  
  
“I’m surprised that they let us have one,” said Ren “ seeing technically that makes us both Masters and I for one am not sure if we are yet worthy of that title, seeing we’re both been sheltered since we got here by the Justice”.  
  
“There is also a war on” Rik pointed out.  
  
“I know,” said Ren “ although I hope the ship is worth it though…..considering how much money it has just cost us to buy her, it has cost us both our entire combined salary for a year, we are lucky he didn’t ask for more!”  
  
Rik sighed, Ren was his deeper more thoughtful side, he’d been so when they’d first gotten split, although they both barely remembered anymore what it was like being one, it seemed like another life, a dream almost!  
  
“Ren! Stop been such an _old stick in the mud_!!” he groaned.  
  
Ren chuckled he frowned then “ we need a crew though, we have ourselves and Kayla, we will need a mech-droid though eventually, might have to look into that”.  
  
“We have one remember?” said Rik “ besides I think the ship came with two, who need a bit of maintenance”.  
  
“We have? Oh, right we do, yours, I forgot about yours” said Ren “ although I thought he technically belonged to the Justice like a lot of our stuff does, that’s what I mean, the Justice has sheltered us for all this time…”.  
  
“No! He’s mine!” said Rik “I found him and fixed him when I got my Fighter! “ he sighed “come on Ren stop worrying! You’ll give yourself **more** whorls!”  
  
Ren made a face at him, that was a bit of a sore point with them both, their kind tended to get whorllike marks on their skin as they got older, even as young as they both were, Ren already had a few whorls, they made him look older than he was, he and Rik were still quite young and he found it annoying that his whorls hid that fact, Rik just got marked, and Rik found that slightly annoying as well, but where Rik got marked, Ren, tended to get whorls.  
  
“People **like** my whorls,” he said “ although I still find them annoying” he sighed.  
  
Rik chuckled “they don’t look that bad!”  
  
“Yeah well,” said Ren facing him.  
  
Rik said “Ren they don’t look that bad honest! I feel the same way about my markings! You not the only one who finds that little tendency of our kind annoying! I haven’t got wrinkles yet, but I’m getting marked…”.  
  
Ren said, “guess so, and I didn’t realise you felt the same way about your markings….”.  
  
Rik said, “ of course I do!”  
  
**T** hey stopped in front of their new ship and Ren opened the panel and put the key card into the slot.  
  
There was a flash and a voice said: “ _Identify yourselves_!”  
  
“Ships _AI_ ,” said Ren “ makes sense” he then said, “ ahem, er we’re your new owners, our transfer files should be downloading into your databanks right about now, I’m Dr Ren, Adept Healer and Consular, rank, Commander, I also have my ID number if you want it”.  
  
“And I’m Dr Rik, Adept Healer and Guardian, rank, also Commander, I also have my ID number,” Rik said, Rik often described himself as more of a Paramedic or Combat Medic, but he was a Doctor as well.  
  
There was a beep and then the voice said: “ _I’m Sera, the ship’s AI, welcome aboard Consular Ren, Guardian Rik_ ” the door opened and a holographic woman stood there, clearly Sera, the ship’s AI, she smiled at them “ welcome aboard” she repeated.  
  
“Your mobile?” said Rik astounded.  
  
“I can walk all over the ship” she replied.  
  
“Wow!” said Rik “um permission to come aboard Sera?”  
  
“Permission granted,” she said stepping back and turned off the forcefield.  
  
“Thank you,” said Ren “ Sera” sensing that this was more than just a simple AI, this was the ship's sentience they had both felt.  
  
The woman nodded “ allow me to show you around”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik sensing the same thing as Ren, this was no ordinary AI!  
  
Sera continued “ I recognise your race…, I thought you were Artean but you are not are you?” this was aimed at Rik.  
  
“ We’re a Corran Pair, “ said Rik “but you mightn’t recognise us as such, because we aren’t _typical_ of a Corran pair, that is probably why, but I believe that there is a Mech droid aboard?” eager to get his hands on it and start to fix it, fixing stuff like that was a  
hobby of Rik’s.  
  
“ _Maxus_ ” she replied “or just M2, there is also Saffi, the translator/hostess droid,” she said, “both need some repairs and maintenance, my former owner, she spent a lot of time on her own”.  
  
“What happened to her,” Ren asked, “ we were surprised to find one of these up for sale!”  
  
“She is One with the Way now,” Sera said, meaning she was dead “I’m all that remains of her….there have been others as well, but there was noone left to give the Serendipity too, she had no heirs”.  
  
“Oh ok,” said Rik.  
  
“Makes sense,” said Ren.  
  
Rik said then “ so where’s the Flight Deck? I wanna _fly_ this baby!” he looked at Ren “although Ren would be the best to attune though, he is stronger in the Way than I am and better at flying ships like Freighters and that”.  
  
“No, we’re just different,” said Ren.  
  
“I can attune you both,” said Sera “ and right this way.”


	4. The Flight Deck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers get familiar with their new ship.

**A** few moments later they were on the Flight Deck and Rik, always impatient was practically salivating to start the ship up and start to fly it and was rubbing his talons together in anticipation “Oh this is……this is beautiful!”  
  
“ _ **RIK**_!” said Ren sitting down and familiarising himself with the controls, while Sera ‘ _attuned_ ’ them both they would be able to fly the ship much more efficiently and accurately, they’d be able to fly by ‘ _feel_ ’ if necessary, Rik had to admit when it came to the  
Way and him, he’d always seen it as more of a Tool he could use, to Ren however it was a much more mystical experience.  
  
Ren often contemplated on its nature, and how it affected the world around them, something Rik didn’t tend to think too much on, Rik had it, so he _used_ it, he tended not to wonder on where it came from or **how** he did it! He left **THAT** to Ren. Ren **_cared_ **for that sort of thing.  
  
“Come on! I wanna fly this baby! And Kayla will be waiting for us” Rik said.  
  
Ren said “patience! The ship she needs to ‘ _attune_ ’ us both, besides the engines need warming up; this isn’t your starfighter Rik! And as for Kayla, she can wait a little longer, she will understand”.  
  
“Yeah, whatever! attune us _already_!” Rik said.  
  
Ren had to smile at Rik’s impatience and said, “ forgive him Sera”.  
  
Sera said, “there you go, all set!”  
  
“That’s all we _had_ to do? Sit down and put that headpiece thingy on?” Rik asked, “ and touch the control panel”.  
  
Sera said, “the ship is now flyable by you both”.  
  
“ _Alrighty_! Let’s lock and load!” said Rik starting up the engines, eager to go”.  
  
“The engines need warming up!” Ren said warningly “this **isn’t** your Starfighter!”  
  
“I **realise** that!” growled Rik “ but Ren! Come on! You can’t tell me that you are not as excited as me about this! Our **own** ship at last!!!”  
  
Ren said “I reckon we should take it a little easier that’s all! The ship has been ‘ _parked_ ’ for a while”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “ but listen to it! purring like a baby!”  
  
Ren sighed, Rik was impatient to fly the ship, so he let him take the main pilot’s seat and took the co-pilot seat, Ren was as good a pilot as Rik, but where Rik was faster and slightly impetuous.  
  
Ren was slower and more steady, but then Rik flew a Starfighter, and he needed to be fast, whereas Ren flew a shuttle, the Sunrise was a hybrid Cruiser-Freighter, capable of going at high speeds, or just cruising along, named ‘ _Sunrise_ ’ because of what it   
did, when it went into warp-speed, hyperspace, Jump-gate, Void-space you name it shone like the sun, when the engines were turned on, or when it left _Afterburn_.  
  
Rik had admired one of these ships for ages, and to finally have one was a dream come true for him, he said he would have sold their soul for it, and Ren had no doubts he would have.  
  
“We need a crew,” said Ren “ Kayla we’re got, we could do it with just Kayla and us and the Droids and Sera, but it would be _nice_ to have a crew”.  
  
“Can crew up to eight or ten, that would be full crew?” said Rik.  
  
“Ten,” Ren said holding up his hands “ we had ten fingers once….”.  
  
“Yeah” agreed Rik “ but the engines are they ready to go?”  
  
“They could probably be more primed and warmer, but we can probably take off,” said Ren taking his controls.  
  
Ren was looking at something on his console, and Rik felt the ship lift from the ground, it was made to be flown by two pilots, one at least Psionically sensitive, the main pilot who was the seat Rik was in, Ren was co-piloting, the co-pilot didn’t need the  
sensitivity, but it helped, without a spoken word and perfectly in sync they worked in unison, always a part of each other, the two had always done so when they needed too.  
  
“Where too?” Rik asked, “ after the Academy, of course, seeing we have to pick up Kayla but where too after that?”  
  
Ren said, “ how about a rotation around Saris Prime, so we can get a ‘ _feel_ ’ for this, Kayla will enjoy that”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik, leaving Saris 3 and heading towards Saris 4, where the Academy was located, to pick up their new Apprentice Kayla Doonsing.  
  
Kayla Doonsing was GT and the current equivalent to 13, a young trainee Adept Healer which they had, had their eye on for quite some time, she had finally been deemed old enough to engage in the more practical side of her Apprenticeship and probably the longest part, which was one of the reasons they had chosen to go Freelance and get a ship for themselves.  
  
“We’ll pick up Kayla **first**!” said Ren “ she _is_ our Apprentice!”  
  
“I know, “ said Rik “but I just want to fly this baby!”  
  
“We can **both** fly it,” said Ren as Rik landed at the docks about half an hour later outside the academy.


	5. Kayla Doonsing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers go to pick up their new Apprentice and get two other crewmembers. River Raye and Kimmie Raye

**T** hey walked into the Academy, and a happy shout echoed, and a Gorta-Trellian girl in her early teens came running, her long white-blonde hair flying “Ren! Rik!” she said happily and threw her arms around Ren and then Rik, she knew them both as they had  
spent some time with her lately getting to know each other, once it was confirmed that she was going to be apprenticed to them.  
  
“Kayla!” said Rik with a chuckle as the girl almost bowled him over.  
  
“Are you taking me _now_!” she asked excitedly.  
  
“Yes!” said Ren “ we are, so are you packed ready to go Kayla? We have a ship and _everything_!”  
  
“Serious!” she said.  
  
“Yes,” he said.  
  
Rik nodded “yeah”.  
  
“Yes, I’m packed ready to go!” she said, “you know how **much** I have been looking forward to this day?”  
  
“No doubt a lot,” Ren said with a chuckle “ a chance to put your training to use!”  
  
She nodded “yes! And I promise I will be a good apprentice!!”  
  
“Well ok, get your things then,” Rik said.  
  
She nodded “I don’t have a lot…”.  
  
“Take your time,” said Ren as he noticed the Head of the Academy approach him, she had been the then Captain of the Justice when they had first arrived here, seeing she was Gorta-Trellian as well, she was followed by a young human woman with a staff.  
  
“Ren, Rik,” she said, “I was hoping to catch you before you left”.  
  
“We had to come and collect Kayla,” said Ren “although I’m surprised that you let us both have an Apprentice because I still don’t think we have enough experience to be a Master yet! And given that fact and GT ages, Kayla isn’t that much younger than _us_!”  
  
She said, “Ren, Rik, you were both fully grown when you first came here, so you are both a lot older than you think”.  
  
“We weren’t even fully grown then! By the standards of our people!” Ren said “we were I think the equivalent to 18 or 19” he paused “ we’re not much over a hundred! I’m surprised you have given us an apprentice!”  
  
She said, “you are both strong in the Way and have proven yourselves worthy, and that is why I’m asking further favour of you”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “guess we owe you one, seeing you rescued us so long ago!”  
  
She said “ there are no thanks needed for that as I have said,” she said smiling at them both remembering when and how she had found them, naked and shivering on a beach in the middle of winter, scared, newly born, and confused, their skin still   
unmarked and shining, apart from the wounds and burns they had inflicted on each other in their confusion, it had been many years since then, and although she knew that they were still young by the standards of their alien people, they were a lot wiser and  
older than they gave themselves credit for, but part of her still saw them like that.  
  
“What is the favour you wish to ask of us?” Ren asked, always the steadier and practical out of the both of them, he had come a long way since then, they both had, Rik and Ren came as a Pair and had always done so.  
  
She indicated the woman next to her “this is River, she is a Sensitive, she found herself here alone, along with her friend and a Droid and needs guidance”.  
  
“You want us to train her **too**?” Rik asked, “ gee, I don’t know what to say. I agree with Ren on this point; we barely have enough experience even to be called a Master!”  
  
“No, not train her, but be a guide…. She has pretty much trained herself, but she still needs some guidance, so I’m asking you to provide her that guidance, much like I did to a newly born, young alien pair many years ago” she said, “ she’s mechanically trained and is mainly self-taught, and even has her Mech Droid with her…so she’ll be a useful ally to you”.  
  
“Well, we do need an engineer…..” Ren said thoughtfully “we just bought ourselves a ship…so we do need a crew for it”.  
  
“It’s a Sunrise!” Rik said “it’s beautiful! Master Ondrina”.  
  
“A _Sunrise_?” she asked, “ and I heard that you had decided to go _Freelance_ , you’ll always be welcomed back on the Justice though”.  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“You know how **rare** those things are?” she said “I’m impressed! How did you manage to get a hold of one of those!”  
  
“From the Shipyards! The owner had died and didn’t have anyone to pass it onto” Ren said, “it took just about everything we earn though for a year….so I hope it pays off, I’m still wary…..”.  
  
Ondrina said, “the Justice mourns losing you both to going _Freelance_ , but we will always support you, and you are always welcome back, but as I pointed out to the current captain, there is a time in everyone’s life when one needs to make their way in life,  
and you two have reached that point, so what do you intend to do?”  
  
“We intend to do missions and couriering, “ said Rik “good money in that if you are not afraid to take a little risk” he paused, moving his tail “we just got ourselves a ship as Ren said”.  
  
She nodded “I wish you well then, and I will make sure you get some funds but will you do this favour for me?”  
  
Ren turned to the girl “what can you do?” he asked.  
  
The girl's eyes widened when she saw them both and said “I’m good at technical stuff and working on droids and that, I have a friend, Kimmi, she’s a self-trained engineer and Techie, we came here together…from elsewhere”.  
  
“Much like us, originally,” said Ren “Ok River, you and Kimmi can come crew with Rik and me, we’re got a ship and we need a crew….it’s a hybrid Cruiser/Freighter”.  
  
“Serious!” said River.  
  
“Yes, as long as you don’t mind sharing a ship with a 13-year-old and Rik and I,” Ren said, “ Rik and I, we come together”.  
  
She said “ what race are you? I have never seen anything quite like you”.  
  
Rik said, “ We’re a Corran Pair, we aren’t native to this universe, we just ended up here”.  
  
“You have a droid?” Ren asked.  
  
She nodded “it’s a mech droid”.  
  
Ren nodded “ so do we, have a Droid, I mean, and our ship has two, so well I guess that’ll help, ok Master Ondrina you have a deal, least we can do for you for all that you did for us….”.  
  
Master Ondrina nodded “thank you Ren” she turned to River “this is Rik and Ren, River as you know, two Knights of the Order and medically trained, but as they said they come together, so I will leave you in their capable hands, along with Kayla of course!” as  
Kayla came back and she smiled when she saw River.  
  
“River!” she said. Clearly she knew the older girl “ are you coming with us?”  
  
“Seems that way,” River said, she looked at Rik and Ren “you have a ship you say?”  
  
“Yes,” said Ren.  
  
She said, “Kimmi, she’s a mostly self-taught engineer and Techie, we’re friends, um she’ll be happy to find out that we’re found a ship to crew on, so are you Freelance or otherwise”.  
  
“Freelance,” said Rik “ well we intend to be, we used to be crewmembers of the Justice though, but Saris has been our home for many years now, we have just bought a ship so we need to pick up a few things from our residence, and probably prime the  
engines a little more, do you two have much?”  
  
“Not really,” said River.  
  
“Get your things and meet us here in about five hours or so,” Rik said, “ and welcome aboard”.  
  
“So who’s the Captain?” she asked.  
  
They looked at each other as they hadn’t thought about that and Ren said: “ we both are I guess, seeing we both own the ship”.  
  
She nodded “ fair enough” she couldn’t figure them out, there appeared to be a strong link between them, not lovers though, as they both shared their colouring but they were two different races, although looking at them both she could see that there were   
similarities between them, they said that they were a _Corran Pair_.  
  
Ren said, “ get your gear and meet us here when you are done; we will take both you and Kimmi, we need a crew….so”.  
  
“Are you brothers?” she asked then sensing the link between them, they felt similar in the Force.  
  
“You could say that,” said Ren “it’s a little more…um, _complicated_ , but brothers, are close enough”.  
  
Master Ondrina said then “Rik and Ren’s relationship is unusual to say the least but I think it is something **they** need to explain to you when they think that _when_ and _if_ they think you are ready to learn it. But no, they aren’t lovers” she hugged both Rik and Ren “take care you two”.  
  
“We will,” said Rik and Ren, Ren hugged her back, and after a moment, Rik did too, the both owed so much to Master Ondrina.  
  
Kayla said, “I’m ready to go!”  
  
Ondrina smiled at the girl “so Kayla are you _ready_? Are you ready for the biggest journey of your life so far and the longest part of your training?”  
  
“Yes!” said Kayla.  
  
Ondrina nodded “Rik and Ren are the ideal teachers for your journey to become a full Knight Kayla and I wish you well, enjoy the journey, study hard, listen to your teachers, and learn, but don’t forget to have a little fun along the way! You are now, officially an Apprentice! And Rik and Ren you are now officially your Masters, and therefore entitled to all that comes with the rank”.  
  
Kayla nodded and bowed “I will Master Ondrina”.  
  
Ondrina nodded “ well Ren, Rik, she’s officially your Apprentice now”.  
  
Ren nodded “ and we will honour such a responsibility, with _loyalty, devotion, trust, honour, and gratitude_ Grand Master Ondrina” and both he and Rik bowed to her “although I still don’t think that we both have enough experience to be classed as a Master though” Ren added.  
  
Ondrina said, “ You have both earnt this RikRen, don’t doubt yourselves so much!”  
  
Rik said, “I guess, but part of me agrees with Ren”.  
  
Ondrina said “you both will be fine, I don’t doubt either of you!” and hugged them both again “ take care and _may the Way and the Path always be clear to you_ ”.  
  
“You to Master Ondrina,” said Ren he smiled at Kayla and added “ _every life has a Journey, Kayla, and it is time to start ours_. Come along then, we shall _begin_ our journey together and well, welcome aboard”.  
  
Kayla nodded and hugged Master Ondrina and said “ and I’m ready to start mine…. Time for my next big adventure! Come on River! I can’t believe that you and Kimmi are going to join us! “ she liked and respected the older girl.  
  
Ren said, “ may we fulfil your confidence in us Master Ondrina and _may the Path always be clear_!” and with one more wave, he turned away and followed Rik.  
  
Master Ondrina watched them go as they left the building and smiled to herself, she had known this day would arrive, that Rik and Ren would want their own lives and go freelance, she smiled and shook her head “ _May the Path and the Way always be clear to you both, Rik, and Ren_ ” and turning away she started to head back to her class, the world needed heroes and Rik and Ren would be part of that.  
  
This, she knew, she had known that when she had met a newly born, yet full-grown Rik and Ren on an empty beach in the middle of winter, so many years ago.  
  
“ _May the Force and the Way be with us and guide us a_ ll,” she said softly.


	6. Lift-Off!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lift-off! they leave Saris 4 and start to get to know their crew.  
> Slightly longer chapter here.

_**Saris Four Space Dock-Saris- 2952** _

“ **S** o where to now?” Ren asked Rik, once they had gotten, Kimmi, Kayla and River.  
  
Kimmi whose real name was Kimberly was a human woman, slightly older than River, with short blonde, curly hair, that surrounded her head like a halo, she was clad in overalls and a floral top underneath, she was followed by a rounded, modular, droid which rolled after her, she said it was a Mech droid and looked at the other two droids that had come with the ship and then at Rik’s own Mech Droid, and after looking around she said she felt right at home.  
  
Sera was introduced to the three newcomers and accepted as crew, and Kayla and River were also both ‘ _attuned_ ’ to the ship.  
  
“We need to prime the engines fully,” Rik said, and after checking them for herself Kimmi agreed with him, Rik was currently on his back under one of the panels checking something as he fit easier than Ren did and was the more technically minded of them both “how about a spin around Saris Prime?”  
  
“What race **are** you?” Kimmi asked as she could currently see Riks oddly humanoid clawed feet, sticking out from under the panel as he had taken his boots off.  
  
“Ow!” said Rik “sorry Ren!” as he came out from under the panel.  
  
“Didn’t feel it?” said Ren, who was in the pilot's seat, plotting a course in.  
  
“You didn’t?” Rik asked.  
  
“Nope…not hard enough, obviously,” said Ren “what happened?”  
  
“I banged my head and my beak on the panel,” said Rik.  
  
“Maybe you should have gotten one of the droids to do it,” Ren said, “you aren’t exactly **_small_**!”  
  
Rik said, “I guess not, and oddly shaped” as he put his shoes back on.  
  
“I know I wouldn’t fit,” said Ren.  
  
“What race are you?” Kimmi asked “I can’t figure it out…you look similar to some others I have seen, but not quite”.  
  
Rik was slightly taller than her, with four-fingered clawed hands and clawed feet and he looked a bit like a feathery Raptor, he had a toothy beak set in a narrow face, a long, sinewy tail although not immediately apparent due to his clothes, he was oddly shaped underneath they could see hints of, his colouring was brown with some blue markings on his face and tail and his hands, so he probably have more underneath his clothes, he also had long reddish-brown hair.  
  
Ren was just as odd, he looked Saurian, also with a narrow face that was somewhat similar to Rik’s, and he shared Riks colouring, although unlike Rik, his face was more rounded as was his shape and he had spiral-like markings on his face that she first thought was a tattoo at first but then realised it wasn’t, his face was gentle and kind and even a little sad and he had a long, soft mane, of thick, reddish-brown hair.  
  
“Not native,” Rik said, rubbing his head “you sure you didn’t feel that?”  
  
“I do now, somewhat, although I don’t think you concussed yourself though,” said Ren.  
  
“You would know,” said Rik.  
  
“We **BOTH** would,” said Ren.  
  
“I know,” he said he sat down in the co-pilots seat “ignition sequence starting”.  
  
“We are going to need some more thrust to get through Saris’s atmosphere,” Ren said, “this isn’t your Starfighter Rik, nor my shuttle.” As he put the Psionically sensitive headpiece on and took his controls and nodding, he said “take a seat everyone, we’re taking off! Sera we are about ready to fly out of the atmosphere”.  
  
“ _Yes_ ,” she said, “ _you won’t have to do this every time, it has just been a while since the Serendipity has been flown_ ”.  
  
“What type of ship is this?” Kimmie asked.  
  
“It’s called a Sunrise,” said Rik “if you watch the screen you will see why once Ren gets the thrusters going, it’s a Psionically sensitive ship”.  
  
“ _Way_ that is what you call _the Force_ , isn’t it?” said Kimmie.  
  
“Yeah…. You have something similar where you come from?” Rik asked.  
  
She nodded, and River said, “Master Ondrina, was she your teacher?”  
  
“Pretty much,” said Ren “it’s a long story but Rik and me when we first arrived here, we were fully grown…more or less, but newly born and she helped us”.  
  
“Are you genetically engineered then?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“ **Us**! Hells no!” said Rik “no we’re not genetically engineered…no we are _something_ different! It’s complex, and we’ll explain it some more some other time, but strap in, we’re going into orbit! And this ship hasn’t flown for a while”.  
  
“Ok” said the girls and Ren concentrating and using the enhancer he flew them into orbit and put the thrusters on with his thoughts.  
  
Wow!” Kimmie said, “how?”  
  
“The ship is sensitive,” said Ren “ it is what Sunrises are known for, you need to be an Adept to fly it properly or at least sensitive to the Way, once up though we can switch to manual”.  
  
Rik rubbed his head and beak, frowning at the bump that was forming there on his head and said: “you got a lump yet?”  
  
Ren said, “somewhat but I don’t think it is a concussion, what you hit it on?”  
  
“On the top of the panel,” Rik said, “also hit my beak”.  
  
“I didn’t feel that either” Ren said, “but I do feel a lump forming, there and it's tender!” he rubbed his head “ouch **Rik**!”  
  
“Sorry” said Rik.  
  
“It’s ok,” said Ren “ well used to it by now” and concentrating he angled the ship upwards, Rik joined him on the other panel, feeling themselves ‘ _sync_ ’ as they tended to do when together.  
  
“Lock and load, up we go!” said Rik he looked at Ren “sorry.”  
  
“That’s ok,” said Ren.  
  
“ok where too from here?” Rik asked.  
  
“One moment” Ren closed his eyes and concentrated using the ships interface to plot the course and Rik watched in amazement as he worked.  
  
“Ren?” he asked  
  
“One moment,” said Ren again “ok course plotted in switching to Manual once we get into the atmosphere and from then it is free-flying”.  
  
“Wow!” said River “this ship…it is alive!”  
  
“It’s sentient yes…the AI and it is psionically sensitive that is what Kimmi seems to call _The Force_ ” said Ren he smiled at her “ _the Path and the Way_ , it surrounds us all River, it is in the air, the water, the rock, the tree, the sky, space, you and I” he paused “I  
don’t know yours and Kimmi’s backgrounds yet only what Ondrina told us, that you are Sensitive, so you will understand more than most”.  
  
Rik said, “ you have not been assigned to us as an apprentice River, that is Kayla, more as your guides, as you seem to have a fair idea about the workings of the Way”.  
  
“It’s different though…here” she said, “there doesn’t appear to be a light side or a dark side”.  
  
“Not so different,” said Ren “the Way is still the Way” he indicated her staff “do you know how to use that?”  
  
“I built it,” she said.  
  
Ren nodded “I could show you some tricks then, I’m pretty good on a martial staff, I’m trained as what they call a _Shadow blade_ ” he then said, “Ok hang on, thrusters are up and we’re breaking atmosphere”.  
  
Rik grinned “hear this baby purr! This is amazing Ren!”  
  
“I sure hope it works out than for us all,” said Ren “this ship cost us both a _year_ in salary!”  
  
“Aw Ren! Cool it! She’ll be worth it, trust me! “he said “going Freelance was the best thing we could have done! We needed a life of our own, away from the Justice!”  
  
Ren said, “I guess we do…all this time, the Justice has sheltered us, protected us, we are probably naiver in the ways of the universe than we realise”.  
  
“We’re **still** so young! We needed to break away!” Rik said, “Ren, you **know** that as well as I!”  
  
“I know,” said Ren “Ok this should be fun, hang on, have any of you seen Saris Prime? Up close? It’s beautiful! Although seeing that it is a Gas giant that is unfortunately probably why. Noone lives there, but there is a space station in orbit around it, we could stop there, there is this bar we know; we know the owner”.  
  
“I’m **_13_**!” Kayla said.  
  
“We will accompany you,” said Ren, he smiled at her and she smiled back at him, she had so been looking forward to this day, she was both their apprentice, but she guessed it would be the quieter, calmer and gentler Ren who would be her main teacher.  
  
Rik nodded “yes we won’t let any harm come to you Kayla”.  
  
Kayla said, “I have been looking forward to this the day that I would start my apprenticeship”.  
  
“And we’re had our eye on you for quite some time,” Ren said, “although I still not sure whether we are worthy enough to be classed as Masters yet ourselves, so just call me Ren, and Rik, Rik, or if you feel that is disrespectful, either Master I guess, or Dr Rik  
and Dr Ren, technically we both are Doctors”.  
  
“Yeah,” said Rik “Ren’s more so than me, though, I’m a Field Medic” he turned to her “have you started to make your blade yet?”  
  
“Not yet” she admitted, “I wanted to wait, till I became your apprentice”.  
  
“Ok, that is the first thing we will work on then, there is a lot of preparation to do,” said Ren “do you prefer double or single-bladed?”  
  
“Single,” she said.  
  
Ren nodded “I use a double mainly, it suits my fighting style more, and as I said I’m trained as a Shadowblade, but I can also use a single, Rik uses two”.  
  
“I wondered how you fought,” she said.  
  
“I use mainly martial arts,” Ren said “to strangely built to get **to** fancy! Rik’s faster but you won’t see him flipping around too much either. We’re both too oddly built” he paused as he manoeuvred through the busy airspace of Saris 4 using the interface as  
well as his excellent piloting skills, Ren was as good a pilot as Rik was although he was more used to flying a shuttle.  
  
“Easy now Ren” said Rik.  
  
“Relax Rik I have flown more through airspace traffic over Saris 4 than you have, seeing **I’m** usually the one flying the shuttle or the ambulance ship,” he said angling the ship a bit and then picked up the communicator “ Commander Ren here of the  
 _Serendipity_ , to Traffic control, permission to head over to Saris Prime?”  
  
“You’re a ** _Commander_**?” Kimmi asked amazed.  
  
“We both are” said Rik.  
  
“ _Serendipity_ is that the name of the ship?” River asked.  
  
“It means ‘ _happy accident_ ’ said Rik “and oddly enough that was how we found her, by accident, we were looking at other ships”.  
  
“Wow!” Kayla said.  
  
“Sunrises are rare,” said Rik “their collectors’ items, and are usually generational, they get passed down, you rarely find one up for sale! But did you see why the name when the thrusters came on? They glow like a sunrise; it’s the afterburn; it is how they get the name ‘ _Sunrise_ ’;”.  
  
“This ship is beautiful!” Kimmie said, “and the Droids, how many we got?”  
  
“Mine, that is Bob” said Rik “ he’s an Astromech like yours is, Madix also an Astromech he came with the ship, Saffi the Hostess droid and yours….what its name or designation?” he said, “ not to forget Sera of course, the ships AI”.  
  
Rik said, “apparently Saffi can cook as well”.  
  
“Multi-tasked then,” said River “Kimi can cook too though”.  
  
“Well we will appreciate you even more than,” said Rik with a chuckle “Ren and I, _hopeless_ in the kitchen! We are more likely to set something alight then cook it”.  
  
“or we’ll blow it up,” said Ren then “it is how we ended up here in the first place”.  
  
“Blown up?” she asked.  
  
“It is how we ended up here, we were experimenting with something that we probably shouldn’t have been and it blew up in our faces, not to mention sending us tumbling through space and possibly time as well, not to mention other things,” said Ren “Ok I’m putting the ship into Cruise mode, it is about an hour to Saris Prime from here”.  
  
“It looks so close though, you can see it all the time, both night and day,” said River “I was surprised to find we were on a moon, and not a planet”.  
  
“Saris 4 is Saris’s Prime biggest and main moon,” said Ren “ it is where most of the population live, it has a temperate climate pretty much all year round, not to mention one of the biggest theme parks in the Galaxy! Have you seen that yet?”  
  
“Err no,” said River.  
  
“The roller coaster is enough just to go there for, it is the coolest one in the universe!” said Kayla then, practically bouncing up and down “it goes through all these tunnels and everything and alongside canyons, and the views! They're amazing! Please,  
Master Ren, can we go! One day! And stay on the site!”  
  
“It _is_ one of the **best** roller coasters in the universe,” Ren said looking at his panel and adjusting it a little, he paused then and then continued “it is a good day out and you can stay on the site within the park as there is too much to see in one day…. there are  
all these different ‘ _lands_ ’ I guess you could call them within it; I like the Water park too, I like to swim, it has some great waterslides, although I got stuck in one of the tubular ones, that was embarrassing! It narrowed unexpectedly through the middle and I got stuck” he said, “we will take you there though, there are rides galore, picnic grounds, even a full-blown zoo! not just an animal park or sanctuary and there is always stuff to do, if you don’t feel like rides or they’re just not your thing, shows, mini-golf  
which Rik and I love, Rik and I often go there and we sometimes work there during the busy times as First Aide, we have a membership card each that allows us unlimited entry to it, we love the place, one of the best parts of living on Saris 4!”  
  
“Been called out there a couple of times as well for incidents,” said Rik.”  
  
“You live on Saris?” River asked.  
  
“yes, we have a beachfront ‘ _cottage_ ’ I guess you could call it there in one of the waterfront areas,” Ren said, “it’s our home”.  
  
“You two are brothers or lovers or something aren’t you?” Kimmie asked then “it’s ok to tell us if you are a ‘ _couple_ ’ we won’t judge”.  
  
Rik guffawed and choked, Ren patted him on the back, and Ren said: “no, we are not lovers, we are brothers, twins even”.  
  
“Twins,” she said, looking from one to the other, “guess that makes sense, there are some similarities between you, you can see it”.  
  
Rik said, “Hmm yes, Ren and I, we come as a pair, we can survive well enough apart, but together we are stronger, it’s a little complicated, but no, we’re not lovers, we are twin brothers”.  
  
“The Bond between twins can be strong,” said River.  
  
“ours moreso than some,” said Ren.

**R** ik than got up and said “Kayla come with me, and we’ll test your skills with a sword, seeing you prefer a single blade, so we can get an idea on what would be best for you to start building your own, as Ren said there is a lot of preparation, you have to make before starting on it, which no doubt you have started to do so, but the biggest part is getting the bits! To work right, you have to make it ‘ _feel_ ’ right both physically and mentally because your blade is the extension of yourself and it is one of  
the first tests and biggest achievements of becoming an Adept, building your own blade” he turned to Ren “you Ok?”  
  
“Yes” said Ren “listen to him Kayla, your blade is your first major step on your path to become a full Knight, it is more than just a tool”.  
  
Kayla nodded and followed Rik to a part of the ship that was near the Flight deck but just enough away from it, to be a perfect practise area.  
  
Kayla said, “you are going to be way too good for me, Master Rik”.  
  
“Isn’t that **kind** of the point?” Rik asked with a chuckle “I won’t use two though, not yet, I will use just the one” he pulled out one of his own and removed his coat “Ok just keep up the best way you can, I’m not about to go jumping or flipping around or do  
anything to fancy, like Ren I’m too oddly shaped and would probably wrench my back or something not to mention cause pain to both him and me, to do so, so given that, Ren and I, we have developed our style to suit”.  
  
“You look almost like a Raptor” she remarked, eying his form, some of Rik's feathered spines were visible without his coat, and seeing he was still so young, they had some immature down and had blue feathers on them, he had sort of vestigial ‘ _wings_ ’ as the Arteans did, they weren’t full wings like Kayla’s were.  
  
Kayla’s wings were mothlike, most Gorta-Trellians had wings, but they were usually either feathery or batlike and were as vastly coloured as the Gorta-Trellian themselves were, but there were exceptions to the rules, Kayla’s wings were one of those, her  
wings were like moths.  
  
“I do,” Rik said with a smile “don’t I? I haven’t gotten fat yet” he looked down at his trim, taut, midsection “ my kind we tend to soften somewhat around the middle when we get older, and Ren’s kind gets bent over, although Ren like me, is built somewhat  
differently….” He paused “I like your wings; they are beautiful.”  
  
Kayla blushed slightly at that comment, and looked down and said, “they’re a little um out of the ordinary”.  
  
Rik nodded “most GT have batlike or feathery, I’d like to see them opened one day but right now, prepare to defend yourself!” and with a screech, he went for her.  
  
Kayla nodded and did so, he had his lighted blade out, which was red with fiery golden runes on it, that was his main blade, his offhand one was blue, he called the Fire and Ice, he also had a single/double one that was a combination of the two.  
  
“Well done Kayla!” he said as she successfully blocked him.  
  
“Well done yourself,” she said, “I’m guessing the screech is to put people off guard”.  
  
Rik chuckled “I can cause fear with my screech if I choose to, Ren sings, I _screech_ ” and went at her again, Kayla ducked under his swing, she was small and slight and was proving a challenge for the slightly oddly shaped Rik.  
  
After a while, Rik powered down his sword and bowed to her and then laughed “you’re not too bad. Someone’s taught you to use your small size to an advantage!”  
  
She powered down her training sword and bowed to him “really? Also, I admit I’m a little short for a Gorta-Trellian….”  
  
“You’re still growing,” he said, “but yes, we need to get started on your blade as soon as we can, you have outgrown that blade and you need a **real** one”.  
  
“I know,” she said.  
  
He nodded “we will get started on that then first”.  
  
“Saris Prime coming up,” said Ren from the pilot's seat “incoming it looks especially beautiful today as there appears to be a storm”.  
  
“Is there anyone on it?” River asked.  
  
“There is the space station that orbits around it, where most of the miners live, but the planet itself no, there is a group of mining platforms though on it, where the miners work, it is a gas giant with a tiny solid core, so they use it to fuel starships, there are workers on those but they don’t live there” the ship shook a little as they came close to the planet, Ren adjusted their stabilisers and the thrusters and said “there must be some turbulence from the storm,” he said then did the oddest thing, he started to hum a little and the ship steadied.  
  
“Ren!” Rik groaned.  
  
“Sorry “said Ren.  
  
“Wow! Did you steady the ship with **your** voice?” Kimmie asked Ren, amazed.  
  
“It’s what he **does**! His voice is his power! And has nothing to do with him being an Adept!” Rik said “and Ren although not exactly that powerful in it, is no exception to the rule! Ren chants or sings when he fights as well!”  
  
“You _sing_?” River asked Ren ““there are a couple of races from where we come from who do that too”.  
  
“Um yes…. _sometimes_ ,” said Ren.  
  
“And you can steady a ship with your **voice**?” River asked.  
  
“Err yeah,” said Ren “only one this small though, I’m um not that good at it or even that powerful in it”.  
  
“That’s amazing!” she said.  
  
“ _Meh_! Spellsingers can do that too” said Kayla.  
  
“Spellsingers?” River asked.  
  
“From my world, Crasolia, a kind of specialist Bard,” said Kayla “you can make a whole mountain range sing if you know the right note, the greatest of them can make a whole **WORLD** sing!”  
  
“And I know someone who can do that,” said Ren quietly.  
  
“How?” River asked.  
  
“ _Crystals_!” said Kayla “ a lot of worlds have crystalline interiors, so you can make them sing if you know-how, you can even use some of them to travel from world to world!” she smiled, pleased to be able to pass something on like that.  
  
Rik and Ren smiled, having Kayla around, their lives were going to get a whole lot more interesting! The girl's enthusiasm **alone** outranked theirs!  
  
“Can you do it?” said River to her.  
  
“No…. but I’m betting that Master Ren can with some practise!” Kayla said, “do it again Master Ren!”  
  
“I don’t need to,” Ren said with a chuckle.  
  
“Aww come on Master Ren!” said Kayla “that was awesome how you did that!!!”  
  
“It gives Master Rik a headache,” said Ren ““he has ‘ _issue_ s’ when I sing”.  
  
“Only because you can do some nasty stuff with it and affect me,” said Rik “Damn Ren can freeze ME in place with his singing! If he uses the right note and tone, I have gotten more or less used to it with him chanting while we fight and it’s beneficial but when he uses his voice like he just did, I can **feel** it!”  
  
“Can you teach me?” Kayla asked him.  
  
“Can you sing?” Ren asked.  
  
“Yes,” she said, “most Gorta-Trellian can”.  
  
Ren nodded “I’m not sure if I can though Kayla, the power my voice holds is an offshoot of what I am, or what Rik and I once were, it is not just singing and as it is I’m not that powerful or that good at it, it is just something I can do, it is not related to the Way although I can use Psionics to enhance it somewhat”.  
  
“You seem so wise though and powerful, almost like one of the older Masters” Kayla remarked then “and not just you Master Ren, but Master Rik as well”.  
  
“ **Me**! **WISE?!”** Rik said with a chuckle “Hardly! **REN’s** the wise one here! Not I!”  
  
Ren said “maybe” he hummed, low in his throat steadying the ship again and then reached over and switched the buffers on.  
  
Suddenly the ship lurched violently, and there was a bright flash!


	7. Unexpected Happenings above Saris Prime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops long time between uploads on this one. Happy New Year everyone!
> 
> Something unexpected happens when the Brothers near Saris Prime.

“ **W** hat the!” said Rik with a hiss “Ren! Sera!” momentarily blinded, Rik fell to the deck as an oddly familiar feeling went right through his entire being, he hissed and collapsed fully onto the deck holding his ears, the lights went out, flickered, went on again, went off again and then flicked back on, on emergency settings, then went back off, a klaxon went off, the ship shook, and Rik blacked out.  
  
“ _Restoring stabilisers and power, and assuming autopilot_ ” came Sera’s calm voice.  
  
Kimi heard this foggily as she was the first to recover and yelled: “ what the blazes just **happened**!!!!”  
  
The lights started to come back on slowly, but before the ship was fully illuminated, she became aware of a low, soft humming that made her want to cry, it made her feel and think of sadness and loss, and she realised that when the lights came back on that the noise was coming from Ren, he was sitting at his panel, humming, and he was crying while humming, that low, soft, sad dirge.  
  
‘ _His power is his voice’_ Rik had said she remembered and now she could see that, and what he had meant, Kayla lay unconscious on the deck, and Rik hissing was on his knees, holding his ears, obviously struggling to get up, River just sat there looking simply stunned.  
  
“Sera?” Kimmie asked, “ what the hell just happened?”  
  
“ _Checking to see,_ ” said Sera’s voice “ _see to Kayla_ ”.  
  
“What is wrong with everyone?” Kimi asked, then going to the girl's side.  
  
“Yes,” River said, coming out of what had stunned her “what was that?”  
  
“ _Give the Jedaini some moments; they need it as they all felt it_ ” Sera advised, then, and appeared taking both River and Kimi by surprise as an ethereal looking woman of unknown race suddenly appeared, she looked human but not fully, and her skin glowed with lights underneath it.  
  
“Wh…what!” said Kimi then she realised “you’re a hologram or something aren’t you? But you are _unlike_ **any** Hologram I have ever **seen**! You're well more real!”  
  
“That is because I’m not totally a hologram,” the woman said.  
  
River said in sudden insight “ **you’re** the _Ship_!”  
  
The woman nodded “I’m Sera,” and then went to check both Rik and Ren and then Kayla “yes” she replied.  
  
“But what just happened?” asked Kimmie.  
  
River said, “I don’t know what **that** was!”  
  
“Psionic Backlash,” said Sera “ something happened down on the planet an explosion or something on one of the mining platforms I think and they all….”.  
  
“They all died.” Said Rik then getting to his feet unsteadily “I swear I have never felt _anything_ like that! I have lost patients, but geez!” he went to Kayla’s side “is she ok?”  
  
“Probably the first time she has ever felt anything like that,” said Sera “it was too much”.  
  
“Is she going to be ok?” Rik asked concerned.  
  
“Yes” said Sera “ she’s just fainted, see she is waking up”.  
  
Rik nodded “ she’s a Healer, so she felt it too, poor kid…..I will get Ren to teach her to shield better; he’s better at teaching that, than I would be, speaking of Ren…”.  
  
“See to your Counterpart,” said Sera “ he probably needs you more right now than Kayla does”.  
  
Rik nodded and went to Ren who was still humming that sad little dirge “Ssh Ren” he said softly, feeling them _sync_ and he took Ren’s hands “you’ll have us _all_ crying otherwise!”  
  
“Rik?” Ren said looking up.  
  
“Yeah, I’m here,” said Rik “ Ssh”.  
  
“They all **DIED** Rik!” said Ren “the mining platform, something blew it up! All those lives lost! Just like that! It was like….”.  
  
“ Massive Psionic backlash, a whole pile of voices called out at once” Rik finished “we have lost patients before but not like that! Kayla fainted! It hurt me! And well I can’t imagine what the experience must have been like for you! No wonder you were singing! A sad song” he hugged Ren “ Ssh!” as he felt Ren shaking a little.  
  
“What is it with those two?” Kimmi asked.  
  
River looked at them and sudden insight hit her “their linked, aren’t they? Much closer than even twins are!”  
  
“It is a little more than that” Sera said, “ and no, they aren’t lovers”.  
  
Kimmie said, “they already confirmed that they said that they were brothers…”  
  
“Twins!” River corrected.  
  
“They don’t look much alike apart from shared colouring, but twins don’t always do,” said Kimmi “but they’re like two separate races it seems”.  
  
“They actually do,” said River “you can see it, it’s just that one is more rounded and well more Saurian and the other has more Avian qualities, but you can see it in their faces.”  
  
“Rik and Ren are you alright?” Sera asked going over to the counterparts.  
  
“Ren’s distressed,” said Rik “but he’ll be ok, how is Kayla?”  
  
“She’s awake and seems to have suffered no harm, she’s complaining of a headache though and might need some sleep, she is not concussed or anything” Sera said.  
  
Rik nodded “if she wants to sleep let her, she is GT, and even when concussed it is the best thing to let them sleep, unlike humans, they tend to go into this healing trance or something, like Ren and I sometimes do”.  
  
Sera said, “ I forgot that you are a Doctor Rik”.  
  
“Ren too, we both are,” he said, “ we were a Healer, but if GT are hurt in any way it is best to let them sleep, I have treated many a Gorta-Trellian in my time, so yes let her sleep”.  
  
He then went over to Kayla to examine her himself and made her giggle a little, “that tickles!” she said as Rik looked into her eyes and felt around her head.  
  
Rik nodded and said “you don’t seem concussed,” he said, “but you're got a lump forming here Kayla, you ok?”  
  
Kayla said “yes Master Rik, what was that though?” and she also noticed for the first time that Rik’s eyes weren’t reptilian despite his appearance and that they were a nice blue.  
  
“Psionic backlash” he replied “ not exactly the most pleasant thing to experience on your first day out as our Apprentice! Especially unprepared for it as we all were, but you are a Healer like we are, so, you will experience such things, and you will learn in time to get used to it and prepare yourself better for it “ he paused “I will get Ren to teach you that, teach you some tricks in shielding, because he is far better at it than I, It is a good thing to have, once he and you are both feeling better. You fainted because it took you completely by surprise, it affected Ren and I too, but neither of us fainted, we’re a little more used to it and the shielding helps” he paused “Ren’s better at it than I’m though, so I will get him to teach you that, but you don’t seem concussed, so have a little nap if you want and I will get Ren to meditate a bit, but I probably need to at some point as well…. That friggin **hurt**! No **wonder** Ren was singing!”  
  
“Is Master Ren ok?” she asked concerned.  
  
“Yes,” he said, “ he will be”.  
  
She nodded “ his song it was so sad and yet so beautiful!”  
  
“Ren’s power Is his voice,” said Rik “ and has nothing whatsoever to do with being Jadaini, Ren, he chants and hums a fair bit and sings, get used to it, it is part of who he is, and part of who we both were. And due to that, it can even affect **ME** sometimes! But you know what? I wouldn’t have him any other way! Kayla go have a lie-down, we will go to the station and see what we can do it’s probably a medical emergency and we are Doctors”.  
  
“The station is still there, isn’t it?” Kimmie asked.  
  
“Yes, it is, it wasn’t the station that blew up it was one of the mining platforms,” said Ren “ Mining platform One I think,” he turned to River than “ River are you ok?”  
  
“I **FELT** that!” River said as Ren examined her.  
  
“We all did,” said Ren “your Way sensitive River and fairly strong in it” he paused steadying himself a little “I’ll teach you how to shield as well,” he said, “you may not be a full Adept but you are a Sensitive” he looked out of the window “ we are going down to the station, there is probably a current medical emergency and two medically trained Adept Knights will probably be appreciated!” he got back into the pilots seat “transfer control to me Sera” he pulled on the interface and pushed some buttons, Ren loved to pilot a ship and he was good at it, and he was probably right in saying that he was more used to flying in airspace traffic than Rik was driving a ship other than a Starfighter, seeing Ren had more experience flying their shuttle or flying a medical ship, Rik was better at flying a starfighter.  
  
“Ren,” said Rik “ I can take over if you want to meditate or something”.  
  
Ren said “Rik I’m fine, I’ll meditate later and it wouldn’t hurt you either! We’ll do it together”.  
  
“You’ll give yourself more marks” Rik teased.  
  
“Can’t be helped,” Ren said.  
  
“Your right though, about the meditation, I probably need to as well,” said Rik he wasn’t above meditating “ my head is still hurting”.  
  
Ren said, “I will take us down, you rest a little”.  
  
Rik said, “ well, ok, sure you can manage, though?”  
  
Ren nodded “ I’m fine Rik I will meditate later”.  
  
Rik said, “ but you were singing that usually means your distressed”.  
  
Ren said, “I was, but we have a medical emergency on our hands it seems”.  
  
“Ok, how do you know?”  
  
“I can **feel** it,” said Ren “ we will not be unappreciated” and angled the ship downwards “hold on” he advised.


	8. Saris Prime Space Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brothers and their ship arrive on the station over Saris.

**A** while later they were docked at the station after waiting for about an hour (and even that was because they were Adepts) above Saris Prime which was as Ren had predicted was in a state of disarray, chaos, and shock due to the mysterious explosion that had happened on Mining Platform One, within moments of landing, Ren had gotten some information.  
  
“110 currently believed dead, mostly workers,” Ren said joining them “Noone knows what caused it yet, or whether it was simply an accident or sabotage”.  
  
Rik nodded “go on,” he said checking the notice board for possible jobs “Hmm someone is looking for someone with a fast ship and willing to take a minor risk to run a load of supplies to Asfarus in about a week, it pays well, but it says fast ship required”.  
  
Ren looked at the board “Medical supplies run to Severus, in about the same gap” he paused “isn’t that near Asfarus?”  
  
“Yes” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded “enquire about both then; we could take both the supplies and the medical supplies; we have a fast ship”.  
  
“Pays good on both,” said Rik, he looked at Ren then “shall we?”  
  
“Like I said enquire about both,” said Ren “although I’m guessing the medical supplies one is more um…. legal”.  
  
“There is a couple of bounties as well,” said Rik.  
  
“We’re not Bounty Hunters Rik, we’re Adept Knights,” Ren said, “enquire about both if you are curious, find out what they are wanted for, but be discreet!” he paused “if we do take a Bounty, it must be justified, we **aren’t** Bounty Hunters!”.  
  
Rik said “serious?”  
  
Ren said “check them out first! And be subtle about it, Jedaini Knights **aren’t Bounty Hunters**! Granted we sometimes get called into that area, but it is not what we **DO**! If we go after a Bounty, it is because said Bounty is either a genuine threat or is innocent! Check them out if you want, but I’m interested in the supply runs, we don’t need to be so discreet with those”  
  
Rik said, “I will do the supply runs first”.  
  
Ren nodded “I ‘ll go and see if I can help with the medical emergency”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “I’ll go check the jobs out, Kayla want to come with me?”  
  
Kayla looked at Rik and then to Ren; Ren waved her off “go with Rik” he said, “Rik you probably need to buy her some supplies, extra clothes, that sort of thing”.  
  
“And her own blaster!” said Rik eagerly.  
  
“Well yes, if you must, but you **know** how I feel about guns in general, but suit yourself” he turned to Kayla then “ the Adepts do not automatically reach for a blaster Kayla, it isn’t our way, but I’m guessing you already know that and will keep that in mind, blasters like your sword is a tool, but it is a tool you use as a last resort when all else has failed”.

  
Kayla nodded “uh, huh”.  
  
“As you can guess, Ren doesn’t like guns,” said Rik “he can use one, but he generally refuses to”.  
  
Ren said “I don’t like guns! No” he paused and said “but that is your decision Kayla, Rik doesn’t have such qualms but then that is who he is. If Rik buys you a blaster it will be, **he** who teaches you in its use, not **I** ” he sighed “is that understood?”  
  
“Yes” said Kayla.  
  
Rik rolled his eyes “you are such stick in the mud at times Ren!” he said.  
  
Ren said, “that Is who I am, as you are who you are, I don’t like guns and I will stand firm on that!”  
  
Rik said, “so you will allow me to get her a blaster?”  
  
“Yes, but **only** if Kayla wants you too! And it is you who’ll teach her in its use” Ren said, “she is **OUR** apprentice Rik not just mine; we are **BOTH** responsible for her training” he paused “but only if she wants a blaster”.  
  
“Of course, she wants her own blaster!” Rik said, “don’t you Kayla?”  
  
“Um,” Kayla said looking from Rik to Ren.  
  
“It’s your choice, Kayla,” said Ren “I don’t like guns that is all, I know how to use one, but I don’t like them”.  
  
“Yeah, he does and he’s not half bad at shooting one also,” Rik said.  
  
Ren said “she also needs spare clothes, especially warm ones, Asfarus is a world of ice and snow remember? A journal is a definite must if she doesn’t already have one, a laptop computer or tablet, just a moment”, Ren pulled out a notepad and wrote a list down.  
  
“Your left-handed, “said Kayla.  
  
“Yes” said Ren “although I can write with both hands, I’m strongly left-handed,”.  
  
“Yeah, I noticed that Riks right-handed” she remarked.  
  
Ren said, “I know” he handed the list to Rik “this is what she needs, feel free to add more if need be and as to a blaster, which is Kayla’s choice” he nodded and looked at Kayla “think about your decision”.  
  
“Ok Master Ren,” she said.  
  
“Guns are a handy sidearm but think about it before you decide”.  
  
“ **REN**!” groaned Rik.  
  
Ren said, “get us some supplies as well…food that sort of thing I will go see about helping the mining accident”.  
  
Rik nodded “and I will offer our ship and our services for the two supply runs”.  
  
Ren nodded “I can trust you with that’.  
  
Rik said, “yeah Kimmi decided to stay with ship as did River”.  
  
Ren nodded “I know”.  
  
“I’ll look at the Bounties as well,” said Rik “into their backgrounds, I know we aren’t Bounty Hunters but **be** realistic! We’re broke and need cash fast, and they pay well and if they are truly justified, I reckon we should check them out”.  
  
Ren said, “I don’t fully agree with that…. but suit yourself”.  
  
Kayla said, “isn’t that well kind of Dark, though?”  
  
“There is no ‘ _light_ ’ or ‘ _dark_ ’ side, “Ren said “as you know, it is the choice of the individual…. Rik and I…we have what could be classed as ‘ _Dark Side_ ’ powers, due to our circumstances and history”.  
  
“Even you?” she asked surprised, she couldn’t imagine the gentle, kind, wise and quiet spoken Ren hurting anyone!  
  
Ren grinned then and summoned some Force Electricity “yes” he made it disappear “Rik and I, We almost killed each other with it. We were confused, disorientated, and well, we didn’t recognise each other at first” he paused _**“not**_ our proudest moment I admit and Rik admittingly is stronger at it, he has his darkness more than I do, but we both do. Ok meet you later Rik, get Kayla some equipment and a blaster if you must and if she wants one, but as I said, **you** train her in its use! Not I”.  
  
Rik nodded “ok and Ren, are you sure you’re alright?”  
  
“I will meditate later….” Ren said, “maybe you can join me?” and turned and walked off.  
  
Kayla said “is he ok?  
  
“Ren’s, Ren, he’s a little shaken by the explosion, but he won’t let it get in the way of his professionalism, as for you and me, let’s go shopping kid! Time to start living!” he smiled at her “time to start becoming a Jedai in full! Ren won’t admit it, but like me, he has been looking forward to this moment as much as I. Getting you as our apprentice, we have watched you since your early training.”  
  
He smiled at her then “come on Kid, let’s get you started on the Path” and led her away towards where he knew the business district was to get her some equipment.  
  
Ren went back to the ship and asked “Kimi, River, you two oks here?”  
  
“Yes” said River “we’ll work on the droids, which came with the ship”.  
  
“Ok,” said Ren and walked off trying to find someone he could talk to on the medical emergency and where they could help.


	9. Going Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rik takes Kayla shopping.

Rik led Kayla into the business district, there were news broadcasts all over the place of the disaster on the mining platform, no one knew what had caused it, the rumours were flying mad, and all they could say was that it was pending investigation, 110 people were believed dead as they had not yet found any survivors.

Rik paused “they won’t,” he said, making Kayla stop in amazement, and look at him in awe.

“Won’t what?” Kayla asked.

“Find any more survivors,” Rik said, “we felt them die”.

“How do you know?”

“Ren is not the only one who can predict the future,” Rik said to her ““he is simply better at it”.

She looked at him “oh”.

“It is a carryover from what we once were,” Rik said “but they won’t find any more survivors, only more dead” he paused for a moment, and Kayla suddenly saw that he was a lot wiser than many would take him for, she could see it in his face, and his bright intelligent and very non-reptilian eyes, Master Ondrina had said that they were older than they seemed.

“You are much older and wiser than you seem, aren’t you?” Kayla asked.

“I am,” he said softly and rubbed his eyes “come on Kayla let’s go shopping” as his Astromech Droid joined them.

“BOB!” said Rik “Kayla meet BOB, my mech droid, he’s mine! Not the Justice’s, figured he could help us carry some stuff”.

“It’s…. cute,” said Kayla.

“I had to rebuild him, I found him on the scrapheap, “Rik said “which is why he is called Bob” he paused “so do you want a blaster? Kayla cause if you do, I know the perfect model for you!”

“Master Ren he doesn’t want me to have one,” she said.

“Master Ren also said that it was your choice,” said Rik “he doesn’t like guns! So, he refuses to use one, although he can and is quite a good shot on it, he doesn’t like guns, so he doesn’t use one, which is why if you choose to get one, I will tutor you in its use, your, my apprentice, too!”

She said, “I don’t know…...”.

“Tell you what, I’ll get you one and if you chose to use it, I would tutor you, although the most important thing to do at the moment is to get you to start building your sword, which is one thing we will both teach you and help you to do”.

“OK,” she said, “Ok, get me one”.

Rik nodded “I know the perfect model! Follow me” he took her to a shop and looked around and then nodded and pointed one out to her “Sporting model, light, small and perfect for your first gun! Ren has one just like it.”

“Well, Ok,” she said, “um ok?”

Rik said, “we’ll get you that one then” he looked at a bandolier and a powered, pistol crossbow, “Hmm might be useful” and tried it on, frowning a little as he slipped it over his back, his feathered spines, his vestigial ‘wings’ and his odd shape sometimes caused issues, he hid them under his coat, but he was still oddly shaped “Mm I like this! A powered pistol crossbow!” he looked at Kayla “want one too!”

“A what?”

“A powered pistol crossbow?” he replied.

“Um, I don’t know,” she said.

“I’ll also get you a power knife and a non-power one,” he said “even Ren can’t protest about that, he has a power knife which he tends to carry around with him” he got a trolley and added some ammo and other stuff in it and a couple of emergency power packs and picked up the numbers for the gun and the crossbow.

Kayla said “Ok” and as she walked, she noticed that Rik’s long sinewy tail had blue-grey markings on it as well, she didn’t know whether Rik was considered ‘handsome’ by his race’s standards, but he was a lot more colourful than he looked at first.

Rik was looking at some stuff “you got a decent sleeping bag Kayla?”

“Err no,” she said.

“Ok one decent sleeping bag then, sleeping mat, blow up pillows, and you may need some decent cold-weather gear, Ren and I have decent camping gear already, we’ll get you some outdoors gear then “ he found some and looked them over, and added some items to their trolley and said, “ feel the Way, timeouts are great, going somewhere where the Force is wild, Ren and I do it fairly often”.

“Going camping,” the sales assistant asked.

“No,” said Rik “but we’re just gotten our apprentice, so she needs some equipment”.

She looked at him then “Oh I see” as she noticed his garb. 

Rik like Ren tended to dress like an Adept Knight, in subdued colours and practical clothes.

Rik grinned “thanks” he smiled a toothy grin “so how much is this lot?”

“Err” she told him.

Rik nodded, paid, and added a few more things and then they arranged for it to be delivered to the ship and walked out, Rik lighting a pipe as he did.

“Don’t tell Ren?” he said to Kayla with a wink.

He doesn’t know?” she asked.

“Yeah, he does and has done it once or twice himself,” Rik said, “doesn’t fully like it though or approves been a Doc and all” he blew smoke rings “I don’t do it a lot though, but after that…” he indicated the broadcasts “I need it”.

“But you're also a Doctor,” she said.

“Not as much as Ren,” he said, “we’re both Healers, but I’m more of a Field Medic or Paramedic” he looked at the broadcast “might check that later, Ren is going to need me to relieve him soon, sorry you got caught up in this on your first day out as our Apprentice!”

“It’s Ok,” said Kayla “makes it seem more real somehow, I mean I got to expect this right seeing I’m a Healer and I am an Apprentice now”.

Rik said “come on, kid, let’s go see if we can get the rest of your equipment” Kayla nodded.

Rik called her ‘Kid’, but she didn’t mind, he wasn't offensive, but she had acquired a new nickname and it made her feel already a part of the crew.

She said, “you been so generous already”.

He said, “you’re our apprentice Kayla, so we are now responsible for your welfare”.

“I guess you are huh?”

“Yep,” said Rik “when you take on an apprentice it is like adopting a child”.

She nodded “I guess,” she said, “never thought of it that way”.

“You are our apprentice Kayla, so it's time that we look after you!” he tapped her nose and smiled.

“You have teeth, a fair few actually” she remarked.

“Yes, I do,” he said.

She said, “I thought you were Artean when I first saw you”.

“No, I’m Corran, I just look Artean, I can easily be mistaken for one, it is part of Ren’s and I’s story of how we came to be ….” He chuckled.

“Hmm” he looked at his list “Ren wants us to pick up supplies, food and all that for the ship that we can store, there is a synthesiser of course but Ren prefers non-synthesised and so do I” and then nodding they went into a store.

Kayla said, “I almost feel like we’re in a frontier world station or something”.

Rik said, “this is a mining station and a stop-off point for the moons of Saris, it was initially built so the miners could have somewhere to live, seeing Saris Prime is unliveable so yeah I guess it does in a way, I have never thought of it that way, so I guess in a way it is like a wild west style place…you like Westerns?”

She nodded “I love Westerns, especially classic ones “.

He nodded “so do Ren and me but keep close Kid”.

She nodded and followed him into the store and looked around.

Rik looked at his list and went to the shelves.

“Flour, rice, salt, spaghetti, Pastas of all kinds, sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, dried meat, lentils, dried veggies, canned goods, spices…hmmm,” he put their stuff into a trolley.

Kayla followed him around, amazed, this was something she had never done, she decided she had to get used to it, as they wouldn’t always be in highly populated areas as she moved along her apprenticeship.

“Tea!” said Rik “Ren and I like a good cuppa occasionally, especially Ren, it calms you and clears your channels we’re found,” he said to Kayla who nodded.

“Cooking chocolate” he added a couple of blocks “normal chocolate, yeast, “he paused.

“Fruit and veges?” Kayla asked.

“That’ll be the market,” he said and paid for their purchases and arranged them to be delivered to their ship “you need some more clothes and that, Ren and I also have got our gear, that isn’t so obviously Jadaini, just in case we have to go undercover or something like that, which reminds me, I need to check out those jobs and see if we can get them….Ren’s right, our ship cost us both a year’s salary, so we need to get some of it back and soon, we’re getting a little low on funds”.

“What about the Bounties?” Kayla asked, “I mean, I know Adepts aren’t meant too….”.

“Depends on what it is about,” he said “ the two jobs will be enough though,” he paused “ Bounties are a way to get a quick buck, but they have to be justified, there is nothing that forbids Jadaini, (this was the proper name of the Order) to go after them, but we are cautioned to used discretion and common sense when doing so, even the Order understands that things like that are needed sometimes”.

She nodded “I see”.

“Besides there are probably plenty of Bounty Hunters around here anyway both legal and illegal”.

“Bounty hunting is Legal?”

“Yeah,” he said “if it means bringing crims back to justice, to go and put a Bounty on someone’s head just because you don’t like them or because you can, is a different story but unfortunately that happens and regularly. Ren and I have done Bounty or Mercenary work in the past if we believe the cause is just, Ren isn’t too keen on them, and in many ways nor am I, but sometimes Adepts are the best for it! We’re Peacekeepers and Diplomats, but sometimes we are the only ones who can! But becoming a Freelance courier should be enough to get reliable results”.

“Weren’t you crewmembers on the Justice?” she asked.

“Well yeah, but we resigned and went freelance, we can always go back if we want to though, Ren was CMO no less!” Rik said “but we needed to find our way, to find our own lives, away from the protection and security of the Justice, but we owe them a lot though, but it was time. We decided to find a life of our own” he paused and continued “we grew up I guess….”.

“Yeah,” she said.

Rik said, “our story…it is a complex one, one day we will tell it to you, but we need to get you some ordinary clothes and stuff and some fresh fruit and vegetables especially seeing Kimi likes to cook apparently”.

Kayla said, “tell me someday”.

Rik said, “we will” and led her into the fresh food market.

“They have a fresh food market on a space station?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said “mostly imported of course, and I’m willing to bet some of it isn’t exactly um legal. But Saris 4 isn’t that far from here, most of the people who live here work on the mining platforms, so maybe it wasn’t an accident”.

“Pardon?” Kayla asked.

“That explosion maybe it wasn’t an accident,” he said “it was sabotage, meant to look like an accident. The T’ron know that we use Saris Prime for mining gases to power starships. Take out one of the mining platforms, it could cripple us for weeks!” he paused “Blame it on my nature but maybe it wasn’t an accident!” he stopped “it mightn’t be the only one they will attack! I must tell Ren that! This may need further investigation! I wonder if we can get permission from the Council to do so. Seeing we are here already, and knowing Ren as I do, he is thinking the same thing! Ren and I are linked closer together than most people realise. Ren, he is the other part of my soul, the other part of ME!”

“You’re a Corran Pair or genetically engineered, or something aren’t you?” she asked, “you aren’t lovers, no it is something different than that, deeper, isn’t it?”

“No, we’re not clones,” he said, “nor a genetically engineered slave race or something, but twins is probably an apt description and is the closest you can get, we say we are brothers, but twins are apter” he paused for a moment thinking on his next words, and then said, “Ren and I…. we each share a part of our soul”.

“Your soul bonded, like some twins are?”

“No, we literally share a portion of our soul!” he said, “we’re Counterparts, as I said it is complicated, Ren and I, we are part of each other, he is the other half of my soul, and we are linked forever, we can shield each other and that of course, but we share a portion of our soul, it was torn in half, and we each got a half”.

“Oh, some twins are like that, especially If they're identical, and then there’s the Corran”.

“It is part of who we both were once long ago, but we both have grown and developed into two individuals regardless, but yes we’ll always have that bond” he picked up some vegetables and fruit and then said, “we need to talk to Ren”.

When they were done, with the food shopping, Rik checked the notice boards and the two courier jobs, taking note of who was offering them and with one he made an appointment to see, the other he left a message as they weren’t available, he also looked at the Bounties and took notice of one, deciding to discuss it with Ren. 

It paid well and seemed to him justified, they had taken Bounties before, Ren wasn’t above bringing genuine criminals to justice, they had done it before working for the Order, but if they decided to do this and freelance themselves, they might have to get themselves a license to do so, been a member of the Adept Order did not automatically give you the license to kill or hunt Bounties.

Kayla asked, “you going to take one?”

“No, I’m going to discuss it with Ren. First, we have done it once or twice before, gone after a Bounty” he said, “there is no rule in the Jadaini codex that says that Jedai can’t go after a Bounty, but there is one saying that if we do something like this, we use discretion and common sense and think about it first and that it needs to be justified, also seeing we are no longer crewmembers of the Justice and have gone freelance we are going to need a license each to do so.”

“Me too?”

“No, you are our apprentice, I meant Ren and I and possibly Kimmi and River, we will discuss this as a crew” he paused “Bounties pay well, and well after buying Serendipity, Ren and I are a bit short!” he paused “but it will be worth it, but let’s see about getting you some normal clothes, more warm gear, shoes that sort of thing, maybe even a dress or a dress robe. Ren and I have dress robes and clothes that aren’t well, obviously Jedaini and admittingly we both well practically live in our robes!” he looked down at his long black coat and shrugged “Jedai to the core, both of us it seems!” Kayla giggled, and Rik smiled, Kayla noticed that he had a few markings much like Ren had spirals when he did.

“It has been ages since I have worn a dress” she admitted.

“Would you like one?” he asked, “or at least a nice dress, robe?”

Kayla said “Ok”.

“Having one nice dress will come in handy,” said Rik “so we’ll buy you one” he led her into a store “choose whatever else you need,” he said “you will find me somewhere in there, seeing you need a journal as well and walked around for a look, looking for some clothes possibly for himself, grateful for the fact he looked more raptor-like.

He wandered around looking for clothing, his main problem with clothes were the feathers on his back, seeing he was still young his plumage was soft and still very downy, he also had small wings, they were pretty much useless, but they were there, so they caused a few issues when buying clothes, that was why he mainly wore his Adept robes as well, they were altered for his shape, he and Ren rarely bought clothes, Ren tended to make theirs, or got them made.

“We’re too oddly shaped” Ren had said once, so he had learnt to make clothes.

“True” Rik had agreed.

“Is this one ok?” said a voice and he turned and saw Kayla in a long black and blue dress that fit her beautifully clearly made with a race like the Gorta-Trellian in mind.

“It’s perfect!” Rik said, “you look simply stunning Kayla!”

Kayla said “it’s a little costly…. but I’ve never owned anything this fine before! Been a street kid and all”.

“You were a street kid?” he asked.

She nodded “my mother, she died when I was quite young, and I never knew my father…. he left before I was born, I was found by the Academy when I was about seven and have been a student since then”.

Rik asked, “you weren’t born on Crasolia?”

“No, on Saris 4” she replied.

Rik nodded “well let’s get you the dress then, turn around” she did so, and Rik nodded “it suits you; we’ll get you that dress then”.

“Oh, thank you, Master Rik!” she said and spontaneously hugged him, taking Rik by some surprise, Ren was right, Kayla was certainly going to make their lives a whole lot more interesting!

“Whoa!” Rik said with a chuckle.

She said, “you’re the best!”

Rik said, “get yourself some more things, I got you a journal” he handed her a journal and a laptop “and oh yes this is also for you, Ren told me to give it to you”.

He handed her a badge, two light swords on a black background but the border was in grey.

“I didn’t think you got these until you were a full Knight,” she said.

“No, you are entitled to wear them when you become an Apprentice, it’s why there is a border of grey”.

“Oh,” she said.

“Shows you’re an apprentice,” he said as he had noticed she had put her apprentice braid in her hair, Kayla had light coloured hair, which was long, thick, and wavy.

She put it on “thankyou”.

“The journal is to keep track of your progress, they advise us all to keep one when we start, mind you Ren still keeps his regularly and me well….so do I only not so regularly, the laptop is for everything else”.

She nodded “Ok”.

Rik nodded and said “you will learn to live with this. You are our young Apprentice” and then with a slight smile he turned away and went back to shopping.


	10. Evening on the Serendipity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the Crew bond whilst Rik is on Triage

Saris Prime Space Station- 2952

Once they were done and everything was loaded onto the Serendipity, Rik and Kayla went in search of Ren, they found him in the medical facility on the station.

He looked up when he sensed them come over “90 confirmed dead they believe and around 50 or so that have been injured, they have been bought back here, it was between shifts, so both copped the aftermath” Ren sniffed and wiped his face “I’ve been tending to the injured, and I suspect at least another seven or so won’t survive the night, they were happy to have me here….we have permission to join the investigative team in the morning, some Marines, who were assigned to look into the incident….they don’t believe that it was entirely an …..”.

“An accident,” Rik said, “I feel the same way, where’s the Triage line?”

Ren told him, and Rik nodded and then said: “Ren go back to the ship and meditate or something, you look beat, I can take over here I’m a Field Medic to remember?”

Ren said “ all those voices…and then silence”.

Rik said “Ren, go back to the ship, meditate a little and get some sleep ok? You are more affected than I am, it is not your sorrow to take on, there was nothing you could do!” he locked hands with his twin and their joined hands glowed briefly “let me take some of it as well” Rik said.

Kayla watched the exchange in amazement ‘Ren is the other half of my soul’ Rik had said ‘ and we are linked forever’ and she suddenly saw that and it made sense.

“Take some of my strength,” Rik said, “ but go back to the ship, get some sleep Ren, you’ll end up fainting otherwise or something, or make yourself sick, thus me as well”.

“I must seem so weak at times,” said Ren.

“No, just you, and sometimes I think you’re the strongest of us both” Rik said “but you do tend to take on too much sorrow” they unlinked hands “I’ll offer my services, I’m a Doctor too, also take Kayla back with you, she is probably not ready to see this yet”.

“But I’m a Healer!” Kayla protested.

“Trainee Healer” Rik corrected “you need to learn some shielding techniques well and that, a lot of people don’t realise this but been an Adept Healer is harder than most people realise”.

“I guess” she said.

Ren said “ Rik’s right, that is one thing we have to start teaching you right away, too many Adept Healers get burnt out, seeing they haven’t been taught to shield right, it is why you have been assigned to us Kayla, we’re both Healers, it is what we both were once” he paused and continued, obviously a little distressed “it was why we also both wanted you to train” he rubbed his forehead “Ow my head….I’m feeling a tension headache coming on”.

Rik nodded “ same here, but you probably feel it more, go back to the ship, rest a bit, meditate and sleep. I will see what I can do here and come back later, probably need to meditate a bit too”.

“Ok,” said Ren “ the investigative team are going down in the morning at 0800, they were quite happy to find an Adept Knight here and were relieved when I told them that you were as well. I don’t think they could believe their luck to find not one, but two of the Order here, not to mention we are both medically trained” he continued “Ok I will go back to the ship and take Kayla with me, but take care, Rik, there is a lot of negative energy and sadness here at the moment, the moment you feel overwhelmed by it all, come back yourself and if I’m still awake, meditate with me”.

Rik nodded “ fair enough, I got all the supplies and set up an appointment for us to see someone about the courier run, couldn’t get through to the medical one but left a message”.

Ren nodded “Ok” he paused “ sounds good” he yawned “I’m heading back to the ship, Kayla come with me, Rik’s right, you are not yet ready for this”.

Kayla nodded “Ok”.

Rik watched him go and said softly “ goodnight Ren” knowing that his counterpart would more than likely be asleep when he got back, Ren’s exhaustion was obvious to him.

Ren and Kayla walked back to the ship, Kayla said: “I wanted to help”.

Ren said, “you are not yet ready to take on that much pain Kayla; it was not what we planned for you to experience on your first day out as our apprentice!”

Kayla said, “I guess”.

“You are a Healer yes… but you are also not fully trained” Ren said “which is why you are our Apprentice!” he smiled at her then kindly.

“I like your markings,” she said quietly.

“They make me look older than I am,” said Ren “ come on Kayla, let’s go back to the ship. I need to calm my inner being else I won’t sleep at all tonight” he sighed “ 90 confirmed dead….I will sing for them”.

“Your voice is your power, isn’t it?” she asked.

Ren said, “I sing; it is probably one of my greatest powers and has nothing to do with the Way”.

She said, “Rik said that”.

“I sing,” he said as they entered the ship.

She followed him, and River looked up, sensing Ren’s weariness.

“Master Ren?” she asked.

Ren said “it’s ok River, I’m just bone tired! It has been a long day; I’m going to my quarters, it is the one closest to the medical lab, I need….sleep, have the rest of you chosen quarters yet?”

“Yes,” she said, “ Kimmi’s are close to the engines”.

“Ok,” said Ren “this ship consider it yours too, we are a crew, all profits we make will get split between us all”.

She nodded “ok”.

Kimmy said, “ Bounties pay well as do courier runs”.

Ren nodded “I know. That is how we intend to pay for all this!” he indicated the ship.

“Rik said he found a Bounty that we may consider taking,” Kimi said.

Ren nodded “ we will discuss it together then, I’m not above taking a bounty if it is justified. Bounties I’m not keen on, and Rik knows that, but they do pay well, and those that are justified are worthwhile, but right now, I need to meditate and sleep!” he sighed and went to his room.

“Is he ok?” River asked.

“Who knows” said Kimmie.

“I think he is just really worn out,” said Kayla.

“Yeah” added River “ok let’s see what we can get for dinner”.

“Rik and I bought a lot of food,” said Kayla.

“I noticed,” said Kimi “I should be able to whip something up, want to help? Saffi said that she could also cook, but I want too”.

“Saffi?”

“The Protocol Droid,” said Kimmi.

“Oh,” said Kayla “you mean the Hostess Droid”.

“Yeah whatever,” said Kimi “where I come from, my universe seems to rely more on Droids than this one does”.

“It does?” Kayla asked.

“Yeah,” said Kimmie.

Kayla said “ok”, and they all went into the ship's kitchen.

About an hour later, Kimmie had made spaghetti Bolognaise, and it was ready to serve and smelt fantastic, Rik still wasn’t back yet, Kimmie said: “go get Master Ren if he isn’t asleep Kayla, he needs to eat something!”

Kayla nodded “I’ll go get Master Ren” and went to where she knew he had taken quarters it was the one nearest the Medlab which made sense.

She went to knock his door and paused as she came to it as she heard the oddest singing, similar to the song Master Ren had been singing when the explosion had happened.

“Master Ren,” she asked, and the door opened at her approach as he hadn’t locked it.

She peered in and saw the oddest sight, Master Ren had lit some candles in his room and had removed his outer robe, so more of him was visible and appeared to be performing some ceremony, singing low in his throat, as a Gorta-Trellian she recognised a death chant when she saw one, but this was beautiful and a little strange, Ren had his arms spread-eagled, he was glowing, and she could feel the power in his voice.

Kayla stood stunned not wanting to disturb this private moment and decided to close the door and walk away.

Ren was obviously singing for the dead, so she’d leave him alone she decided and went back to the Kitchen thinking that maybe he’d be willing to share with her later about it.

“Where’s Ren?” said Kimmie as Kayla came back in “asleep?”

“I think so, he didn’t answer,” said Kayla, hoping River wouldn’t pick up that she wasn't entirely truthful, River was Force-sensitive but not formally trained in it, but she knew the older girl could sense things, she liked River though and was grateful that Master Ondrina had insisted that she join Rik and Ren in their venture, at least she and River could understand each other in many ways that others wouldn’t.

River said “ makes sense, he was rather distressed over the whole explosion” she poured some coffee “leave some for Rik and Ren, Master Rik probably won’t be back tonight, and Master Ren will be hungry when he wakes up, want some coffee Kayla, Rik got a nice brew”.

Kayla nodded “ yes”.

River turned to Kimmie “how about you?”

Kimmie nodded and took a cup “think we all need some”.

River said “ especially Kayla and I….no wonder Master Ren was distressed! That backlash was like nothing I’ve ever felt! And I’m not even formally trained! No wonder you fainted Kayla and Rik and Ren both reacted how they did!”

“I’m surprised no one’s apprenticed you,” said Kayla.

“Think I’m too old,” River said, “I’m 21, although you are probably older!”

Kayla said, “no about the same”.

Kimmie said “ what? “ Kayla looked 13!

“Gt live for about 1000 years,” River said, “it seems once they get past puberty they stop aging basically”.

“Serious!” said Kimmie.

“We still age, it just slows right down!” said Kayla “ adolescence lasts for ages! The longest part of childhood, we’re considered adolescents till we’re about 100 or something! It’s kind of gets you ready for the long years of adulthood”.

“Oh,” said Kimmie “I’d hate that!”

Kayla chuckled “if it’s your race, you don’t notice it, kicks in around puberty, we call it ‘ _Transition_ ’ I love spaghetti Bolognaise! Yum! You can cook, Kimmie! This is fabulous!”

“Glad you approve,” said Kimmie with a chuckle eating her own and for a while they ate in silence.

“Is that Spaghetti Bolognaise I smell?” came a weary sounding voice, they looked up as Master Ren came in, his person once again concealed under his voluminous robes.

“Yeah I saved some for you and Master Rik, Master Ren, Kayla said you were asleep,” Kimmie said, he nodded and Kayla wondered if he knew she had seen him.

“Thank you,” he said, taking a portion “ who cooked it?”

“I did” said Kimmie.

Ren nodded “ smells great! Rik and I, we’re terrible at cooking! So, having someone who can cook is going to be great! As Rik said, we are more likely to blow something up than cook it! It is how we ended up here in the first place! we blew something up!” he chuckled he paused and took a coffee and sat down “Rik knows our favourite brews” he then asked, “ heard from Rik?”

“No,” said Kimmie.

Ren nodded “ he will be back later” and started to eat.

“I wondered if you were vegetarian or not,” said Kimmie.

“No,” said Ren “ and Rik definitely isn’t! I do have teeth, they’re just small, like yours, I’m omnivorous, but I need meat as well, so’s Rik”.

“You’re some type of um….lizard, aren’t you?” Kimmie asked delicately, not wanting to offend him, she liked the kind, gentle and wise alien.

“Saurian” Ren said “ and I’m not fully reptilian, I’m also Mammalian, as is Rik, we’re warm-blooded, but he has Saurian characteristics like me” he paused “I’m bone-weary though. This day has been, taxing; I will eat then go back to sleep”.

“Your no big lizard,” Kayla said, “you have hair and that! your something like dragonkin or something aren’t you like we once were?”

“Erm yeah I guess so,” said Ren.

“I mean we have reptilians in my universe but you look nothing like any of them,” Kimmie said.

“I’m not from this universe either, originally,” Ren said “but I probably am now” he rubbed his eyes “my head hurts!” they noticed his hands, large, long-fingered with four fingers and with small stubby claws and no doubt very dexterous.

Ren was still young, so his hands and fingers were not marked, or wrinkled, and his hands still lacked spirals, they were still fairly smooth if callused somewhat from his work.

Ren rubbed his temples “too much stress and strain; it is a wonder I didn’t faint! Rik was right to take over from me” he took a sip of coffee “do you want me to help you clean up?”

Kimi said, “ you look beat Master Ren, it’s ok”.

Ren sighed and said “I need to go meditate and sleep! Rik and I have been asked to help with the investigation into the explosion” he paused “Kayla think you’re up to that? Your first real outing as our apprentice? It’s Ok if you’re not”.

Kayla said, “I’m here to learn Master Ren”.

Ren nodded “get a good night’s sleep then and see how you feel about it in the morning” he then turned to Kimmie “Kimmi I will put some aside for Rik, he is bound to be hungry when he gets back and put the rest the away”.

Kimi nodded “I cooked us a fair bit so it should do us for another day”.

Ren nodded and got up and set some aside for Rik and put it in the fridge, adding more meat than spaghetti, knowing how much Rik liked his meat.

Kimmi said, “you should get some sleep Master Ren” she had adopted the title that River and Kayla called him, not knowing what else to call him apart from ‘Dr Ren’, besides it seemed to suit him, he seemed so wise.

“Yeah,” he said, “Sure, you don’t want help cleaning up?”

“No, it’s ok,” she said.

Ren nodded “ very well” he yawned and said “Kayla I have put some learning texts in your quarters to read and study and a couple of other things, study them at your leisure but make sure you do!” he smiled at her “ we may test you on them”.

Kayla nodded “ok”.

Ren nodded “ River I have also given you some information that you may find useful to read as well, we aren’t here to train you, seeing your pretty much done that yourself, but to be more of a guide and to support you, to help you discover what you can do, so what I have given you might help with that” he paused and rubbed his head “Ow!”

“Going to test me too?” River asked.

“Probably not, although Rik might,” he said, “Kayla is our apprentice, you are not but what I have given you might help you to understand what your gift is and how to use it”.

She nodded “ thanks.”

Ren nodded “ and we all need to learn how to fly this ship, what it can do and so forth, River you can use the headpiece as well and so can Kayla”.

“What does it do?” River asked.

“It allows you to use your sensitivity to fly the ship more accurately, to fight with it and everything; it eventually helps you to BECOME the ship, to use the ship as an extension of yourself, like a PsiBlade, you can fly the ship by mind alone”.

“Like Sera?”

“Yes but not a hologram,” he said.

She nodded and Kayla said “ some of the Masters can project themselves by thought alone across thousands of light years and can fight and everything and you don’t realise that they are a projection! Kind of like that, I imagine”.

Ren nodded “ something like that, and no, Rik and I can’t do that yet! As I was saying, Rik and I, we don’t consider ourselves with enough experience and power yet to even be considered a Master! Yet here we are, with an apprentice and a Sensitive to guide and train. Truth is Kayla, given GT ages, and our circumstances we aren’t that much older than you are! I’m surprised they even considered this! Let alone granted it!” he shrugged “guess we will learn together then!” he groaned “Owww! My head! Rik is going to be so grumpy with me! I’m going back to bed!” he turned and walked off.

“Poor Master Ren,” said Kayla she sighed “I hope he’s feeling better in the morning”.

Kimi said “ um anyone wants to play a game or something? I have some cards”.

River refilled the pot “come on Kayla we’ll show you how to play poker”.

“There’s also Tarok,” said Kimmie.

“Poker!” River said decisively.

“Ok,” said Kimmie “ we’ll teach you how to play Poker, Kayla”.

Kayla grinned “ sounds good, but I bet I will surprise you”.

“Just no, mind-reading,” Kimmie said, “I’m not Force-sensitive!”

Kayla said “Ok” she smiled at River, who smiled back and Kayla said “I’m betting Master Rik is really good at this! But I also wouldn’t disclude Master Ren”.

River said, “I’m good at it as well, and Tarok and Kimmi’s a whiz”.

Kimmie pulled out a deck of cards “I’ll deal….basically the rules are as follows, Kayla”.

A few hours later Rik came back to the ship every bone in his body ached and had a bad tension headache, and he was bone-weary, he rubbed his temples, hissing slightly and cursed his link to Ren like he sometimes did (he was sure Ren did some times as well) and what he needed right now he decided was his pipe and a dram of Whiskey or Brandy.

“Errgh!” he groaned “ no wonder Ren practically fainted!” he lit his pipe and smoked it as he walked into the ship right to the kitchen to get himself that whiskey!

Inside the ship was quiet, clearly everyone had retired for the night, and he noticed the deck of cards sitting on the table and smiled at the good impressions he got from the table, the three girls had bonded well, there was a general ‘good feeling’ around the ship at the moment.

He patted the ship, sentient that it was, he could feel it and smiled yep the Sunrise was the way to go, even if it had cost them both a mint! And went to the liquor cupboard and poured himself a stiff drink, noting the note on the fridge in Ren’s handwriting, like his own but different as well.

“ _Rik, Spaghetti Bolognese in the fridge for you, Kimmie made it, and it’s delicious! Eat something you're going to need it! If I’m still awake, meditate with me, it is times like that I feel we are One again sometimes! Complete!_

Rik nodded, he and Ren both liked the way they were now but sometimes if they had had a particularly harrowing experience, they needed each other, more than they both cared to admit.

Rik nodded and the bolognaise smiling at his portion, at the thoughtfulness of his counterpart, Ren had given him a lot of meat, heated it, ate it, drank his whiskey and wondered if Ren would appreciate some as well, and decided to take the bottle with him, if Ren were meditating it would help him as well.

Rik knew that he was more saddened and distressed by the whole incident than he appeared to be; it was a wonder he wasn’t sick.

After he finished his food he went to the quarters that he knew Ren had taken for himself and opened the door as Ren hadn’t locked it expecting to find his counterpart meditating, but he wasn’t, worn out and drained, Ren was curled up asleep on his bed, his heavy tail over the side of it, he had removed most of his clothes and was clad in his undergarment so all of him was visible, Ren like Rik it was hard to tell immediately what gender they were as their ‘parts’ were mainly internal, you didn’t immediately see them, although, he and Ren weren’t hermaphroditic they were both males.

“Rik…..” Ren said, sleepily, as he felt their sync.

“Ssh, “ said Rik “I just got back basically, didn’t mean to wake you.”

Ren said, “ so tired!” and went back to sleep.

“Ssh Ren it’s me,” he said softly “we’ll meditate together then tomorrow.”

Rik nodded, then went to his room and put the decanter down, pulling off his clothes until he was just in the loose trousers he wore underneath and climbed into his bed and was soon asleep.


	11. Morning on the Serendipity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimmie, Kayla and River muse on what Race Rik and Ren are, and then they go to join the Boarding Party down on the platform.

**Saris Prime Mining Station- 6.30 am**

**“** I wonder what race they are?” said Kimmi to River and Kayla, as she boiled the kettle.  
  
“Who?” Kayla asked.  
  
“Rik and Ren,” said Kimi “ are they something like a genetically altered slave race or something? I mean it can be done, I’ve seen it.”  
  
“No their a Corran Pair,” said Kayla, “Master Rik told me that Master Ren was the other half of his soul, thus a Corran Pair, they always come in pairs, I think”.  
  
“Corran? What are they?”  
  
“Not much is known about them their rare and near-extinct I think, only that they are born, like Master Rik and Ren seemed to have been, their **born** counterparts! Half of each other, there are always two of them, and that is what they are, Corran”.  
  
“Corran?” River asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Kayla said “ as I said there is not that much known about them” she paused “ usually one is more humanoid and the other more Saurian, mammalian or Avian, occasionally even insectoid, but there have been exceptions to the rule, some are born both that way, both more Anthropomorphic, or both humanoid and so on, they’re a Corran Pair! Their from the same system my people come from.”  
  
“makes sense, “ said Kimi “you know this universe better than I do, but what are your people? Your Near Human it is obvious, but you're also not.”  
  
“She’s the same race as Master Ondrina,” said River.  
  
“Gorta-Trellian,” Kayla said, “we’re originally from Crasolia, but I was born on Saris 4”.  
  
“Oh,” said Kimmie.  
  
“Kimmie that isn’t your real name is it?” Kayla asked.  
  
“No it’s Kimberly Rae but everyone calls me Kimi”.  
  
Kayla nodded “ Kayla Doonsing”.  
  
“River,” said River “I’m an orphan so I have no last name, so I use Raye as well”.  
  
“Oh,” said Kayla.  
  
“Rikren Starfire,” said a voice as Ren walked in yawning “thus Rik and Ren,” he yawned and poured himself some coffee.  
  
“I noticed that Master Ondrina called you ‘RikRen’ said River.  
  
“That is our original name,” Ren said he pulled a banana out of the fridge, peeled it and cut it up and put it on his cereal, he then sat down and drank his coffee.  
  
“Ok,” said River “who are you though and how did you come to be?”  
  
“Long story,” said Ren, “beginning with an empty beach in the middle of winter on Saris 4” he sighed “ but sorry about last night I was _really_ tired”.  
  
“You ok now?” Kimi asked.  
  
“Yes,” he said.  
  
“Where’s Master Rik?” Kayla asked.  
  
“He’ll be in soon; he’s always taken longer to get out of bed!”  
  
“What time did he get in last night?” asked Kayla “we were playing cards there for a while and he still hadn’t come in when we had finished”.  
  
“Around two,” Ren said drinking his coffee.  
  
“How do you know?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“Rik and I, we….’ _sync’_ , I guess you could call it when we are together,” Ren said “ so I um…sensed it when he did” he paused “he’s on his way up now” and sure enough Rik entered the Kitchen/Galley and said “morning crew” he looked tired but satisfied.  
  
“morning Rik,” said River.  
  
“Morning,” said Kimmie.  
  
Ren looked up “you feeling better,” he asked.  
  
“Yeah,” said Rik sitting down and taking the coffee, Kimmi offered him.  
  
Ren nodded and said, “how bad are we looking at here?”  
  
“About 98 dead, a couple died last night,” Rik said “I hate losing a patient, I tried to save them….. but they were too wounded” he sighed “I’m glad it was me and not you though….seeing you would have probably fainted or something”.  
  
Ren said, “ we have both lost patients Rik…your always telling me that I can’t save everyone…the same applies to you”.  
  
“I know but you ‘ **feel** ’ it so much more, due to your nature,” Rik said.  
  
“It is only because I’m me,” said Ren pouring more coffee “but you are probably right …I was overly fatigued last night”.  
  
Rik nodded “it’s why I sent you back” he paused “Kayla are you up to going with the investigative team, that is going down there today? If you’re not, let us know, think carefully about your answer before you decide. It is not going to be…pleasant”.  
  
“Um….I’m a Healer I guess I probably should, shouldn’t I?” she asked.  
  
“Your also only 13, and fresh out of the Academy,” said Rik.  
  
“I guess….” She said.  
  
Ren said “I rather you didn’t Kayla” he paused “ **I’m** going to find it hard enough as it is, and so will Rik even though he won’t admit it! It is ok if you don’t want to come, Rik and I, we aren’t going to push you into something you feel you aren’t ready for…don’t come if you don’t think you can”.  
  
Kayla looked down at her feet “I don’t know….”  
  
“Your hesitation speaks volumes,” Ren said, “no I don’t think you are ready, I’m not even sure if I’m going to be Ok”.  
  
“I’ve seen blood before,” Kayla said, “it doesn’t make me sick”.  
  
Ren said “it is not blood I’m worried about Kayla” he paused, thought, then continued “it is impressions, emotions left behind, a sudden disaster like this, leaves….impressions in the Way. If you are sensitive or trained in such, you feel these impressions, you hear them, sometimes even see them, even when others cannot”.  
  
“You mean like ghosts?” River asked.  
  
“Yeah,” said Ren “like ghosts, only intangible”.  
  
River nodded “I’ll come if you like, instead of Kayla”.  
  
“You?” Rik asked.  
  
River nodded “ yes before we came here, Kimmi and I, we ended up on this planet out in frontier space, a job that kinda went awry, this planet it used to be a colony and there was a disaster that destroyed it, it was haunted, with impressions from the past… and well it was scary! But I felt it, and the darkness that destroyed it like nothing else…. Dark Knights I think”.  
  
Ren looked up “ Dark Adepts?” he said suddenly.  
  
“Ciath?” Rik asked.  
  
Kimmi said, “I thought you said that there was no ‘dark side’ or ‘light side’.”.  
  
“There **isn’t**!” said Ren “but there is good and evil and shades of grey, Ciath is a name coined for evil Psionicists, regardless of whether their Adepts or not!”  
  
“Oh,” said Kimmi.  
  
“So I’m guessing I’m right with my guess,” Ren said “ Dark Adepts?”  
  
She nodded “I guess so”.  
  
Ren nodded “ _Hmmm_ …this place isn’t going to be like that, but the disaster is fresh and the impressions are going to be a lot stronger”.  
  
River nodded “there is a war on…Kayla, she is still a child”.  
  
“I’m not!” Kayla protested.  
  
“Your **13!** ” River said, wanting to protect her young friend.  
  
Kimmi then said “ how about I come then? I’m not a Sensitive and I’m a Techie, so, I won’t be affected by well, impressions or whatever?”  
  
“She has a point,” Rik said to Ren.  
  
Ren looked thoughtful “you know your right” he paused “ok Kimmi, Kayla you can come if you want to, but I don’t think you’re ready for it,” he said “the emotional feedback…you would find it overwhelming, I’m not even sure if I can handle it for too long myself…. I have lost patients before and even been in disaster zones or even a warzone… I’m a little more used to it, but….” He sighed” well let’s just say, Rik did well to relieve me last night when he did, I was dangerously close to collapse”.  
  
“How come?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“Ren…he **feels** things more,” Rik said “ more keenly than I do at times! His empathy is higher. Also, he tends to take on the sorrows of the world”.  
  
Ren nodded “I guess it is a trait of mine, my empathic rating it is higher than Rik’s, things tend to cause me distress more, it was something I had to overcome when I took my final tests” he paused “Kayla you are a long way from that, but it will do you good to remember that, when you take your final tests, one of the things you are tested on are your weaknesses, which is why I had to learn to turn that weakness into a strength”.  
  
Kayla nodded “I know”.  
  
“It is different for us all” Rik said, “ for me, it was my pride and the darkness within myself”.  
  
“Darkness?” Kayla asked.  
  
Rik said “I’m the other half of our soul, Ren is the Lighter side, I’m the Darker side. I have this inner darkness in me that I have learnt to temper and learn to use as a shield, but it is there”.  
  
“We **BOTH** have that darkness within us, Rik,” said Ren.  
  
“True, but me more than you,” Rik said.  
  
“We did attack each other that first night,” said Ren “ and I have what could be classed as ‘ _dark side_ ’ powers, just like you do”.  
  
Rik sighed “I guess so” Kimmi, and that listened to the conversation not fully understanding what they both meant.  
  
Ren said, “you are welcome to come then Kimmie”.  
  
Kimmi nodded and River said, “I will stay here with Kayla then and work on the droids”.  
  
“Are they in that bad shape?” Ren asked, “ We haven’t gotten around to checking them”.  
  
“The Mech needs some repairs, Saffi just some maintenance, “ River said, “the ship it has seen some action”.  
  
Ren nodded “Sera mentioned that it had”.  
  
“I was going to have a look at the Droids,” said Rik “ but things kinda got in the way, so thanks for doing that”.  
  
River said “Kimmi taught me everything I know on how to care for, repair and maintain Droids” she looked at Kayla “ want to help me with them, Kayla? It’s a good skill!”  
  
“I feel I should be going with master’s Rik and Ren,” Kayla said.  
  
Ren said, “Kayla you aren’t ready for this, not yet, maybe if they ask us again, but I think it would be best if you stayed behind today and when we get back I will start teaching you how to shield as I do”.  
  
He came over and touched her shoulder making her look at him and smiled down at her, she realised that his eyes were the same shade as Rik’s, and he had a little of the blue markings Rik had around his eyes as well, his gentle, kindly face was made even moreso with the gentle smile he was giving her, he made her feel safe and protected.  
  
He said he looked older than he actually was, due to his markings and up close she could see that he was younger than he appeared, and he touched her shoulder and said “ next time Kayla”.  
  
Kayla said “ are you sure? I should go…”.  
  
“No,” said Ren “ not today, the impressions will be too strong, and I need to teach you how to shield better, you’re a Healer you’re going to need them”.  
  
Kayla nodded “ I guess”.  
  
Ren said, his voice lowered “you saw me last night, didn’t you?”  
  
“Um…” she said, “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t stay around too long…. It seemed a private and personal moment”.  
  
Ren said, “ I was singing for the dead and doing a ceremony for them” he shrugged “ odd of me I know….but well…”.  
  
Kayla said, “I didn’t know what to think, although been GT, I recognise a Death Chant when I see one”.  
  
Ren nodded and said, “ I do odd stuff like that”.  
  
“I didn’t stick around, it seemed well like an intrusion and well I know how you feel about people seeing you….”.  
  
Ren chuckled “ er yeah. Guess I may have come across as well…...ashamed of myself and that I’m a freak or a monster. It isn’t intentional, I’m just really conscious of the way I look, so I tend to well… _hide_ ”.  
  
“You’re not a monster Ren.”  
  
“I know!” he chuckled “ but I’m conscious of my looks, Rik and I, we stood out on Saris that’s all, “he said, “ stay here with River today if they want us back then maybe tomorrow”.  
  
“Ok,” she said.  
  
“I still need to teach you how to shield as well; you’re a Healer, your gonna need to know how, else you’ll burn out,” he said, going to a cabinet and said over his shoulder “Rik you may need to take a Blaster because we don’t know what is down there, especially if it is sabotage”.  
  
Rik said “I was about to suggest that” he indicated the cabinet “there is a couple in there, I packed, and a rifle and I bought a couple of powered pistol crossbows…they were cheap”.  
  
“Powered pistol crossbows?” said Ren “err ok I guess” he looked in it and pulled out one of the crossbows and the bolts “nice work…the bolts are meant to return” and nodded “ good choice, you get one for Kayla?”  
  
“Two, one for us to use and one extra,” he said, “Ren, would you rather that?”  
  
Ren paused and cocked the pistol crossbow and nodded “good trigger” and said “maybe, but I don’t think they are the best choice for today” he pulled out a Blaster, similar to the one Rik had bought Kayla and holstered it.  
  
“I thought you didn’t like guns,” Kayla said.  
  
“I _don’t_ , but it does not mean I can’t use one,” Ren said “mine is set to stun, I don’t like guns, I never have and rarely use one, but like most of us I’m proficient in their use” he shrugged “but it is not our way to automatically go for a gun”.  
  
“Speak for yourself!” Rik said “but he does have a point, Ren and I, we’re Doctors, _Healers_ , we’re in the business of **saving** lives! **Not** **taking** them away! but yeah, Ren can use a gun, he doesn’t…it’s one of the reasons why I fly a Starfighter and he doesn’t!”  
  
Ren shrugged “ it is not in my nature,” he turned to Rik “what do you want?”  
  
“Probably just my blaster, don’t think we need the rifle,” Rik said as Ren handed it to him.  
  
Ren nodded “Kayla, I rather you stayed here today….you aren’t ready to wander around in a newly made disaster zone, but it is your choice”.  
  
“Um…?” Kayla said.  
  
“I’d go with his words Hon,” said Kimmie, she smiled at Kayla.  
  
Kayla said, “I feel like I should though!”  
  
“You aren’t ready,” said Ren as Kimmi helped herself to her twin blasters and her power knife.  
  
Kimmi said “ come on BB80” as her modular Droid joined them, as Rik got Bob.  
  
Rik said, “ Bob is Psionically sensitive, I thought I bring him”.  
  
“Is he an Astro-mech?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“He’s a Mech,” said Rik “ and more, I had to rebuild him though. I found him on the scrapheap in a junkyard on Saris 4, forgotten and rusting away; everyone thinks he belongs to the Justice. But the truth is, like my Starfighter he is mine, building things it is a hobby of mine”.  
  
“And he’s Force Sensitive?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“Of course!” said Rik, “he helps me fly my Starfighter! He’s my co-pilot!”  
  
“You fly a Starfighter?” Kimmi asked.  
  
“Yeah,” he said “I have it in the hold. Its wings are folded down, so it doesn’t much look like one at the moment, the only way it fit” he paused “it might be best to take my Droid”.  
  
Kimmi said, “ can’t we take both?”  
  
Rik said, “ we probably only need the one, he’s sensitive so that it might come in handy”.  
  
Ren said, “ Rik’s right Kimmi, “he frowned as he checked his blaster and holstered it again.  
  
“Thought you didn’t like guns?” Kimmi said.  
  
“I don’t!” Ren said, “ doesn’t mean I can’t use one!”  
  
“Ren’s a good shot,” Rik said, “ and believe me, he’s surprised someone with the sudden appearance of a gun or a tool in his hand.”  
  
“Serious?”  
  
“Yes” said Rik.  
  
Ren shrugged “element of surprise, you know?”.  
  
“I got Kayla one of those as well,” said Rik indicating the blaster.  
  
Ren nodded “you tutor her in it!” he said.  
  
Rik said, “ seems like I will end up training her in physical aspects, you the meta-physical, more than likely”.  
  
“We are both responsible for her training Rik,” said Ren “ she will learn from us both”.  
  
“I know,” said Rik, he smiled at her “but Ren is probably right Kayla it is going to be hard down on the mining platform though kid, you fainted from the feedback so you’re probably not ready for this, Ren and I, we will go down today with Kimmi and check the site out” he paused “ River, you any good at striking deals?”  
  
“Pardon?” River asked.  
  
“I made an appointment to see someone later today about the courier run, we mightn’t be back in time, so I thought you could go in our place if we give you our authority to do so, we do need the money, so we don’t want to miss out on it,” Rik said “ Serendipity cost us both a years’ worth of salary… so this job is a great opportunity, so um I was wondering if you could meet this guy for us?”  
  
River nodded “I will”.  
  
“Take Kayla with you,” said Ren “she’s an empath so that she might be useful”.  
  
“Kayla?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Ren “Kayla is training to be a healer, so she has empathy, you need it to be one”.  
  
“Oh,” said River.  
  
Ren said, “that ok with you Kayla?”  
  
She nodded eagerly and Ren chucked Rik his blaster and said “ ready to go Rik?”  
  
“Yep” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded and holstered his “let’s go then”.  
  
“Glad you’re packing yours,” said Rik.  
  
“I do not like guns, but we don’t know what is down there, mine is set to stun,” Ren said putting his staff over his back, he also had his sabre.  
  
“I can’t believe that you use a double-bladed lightsabre,” said Kayla.  
  
Ren said “suits my fighting style, I’m trained as a Shadowblade, but I also use a single-bladed one just as well. I don’t flip around too much though I’m too oddly shaped to do so, I do a form of martial arts. oddly shaped I might be, but oddly enough I’m physically stronger than Rik is …which is ironic, seeing **I’m** the **peaceful** side supposedly, people think I’m passive but I’m not, and I can overpower Rik! “  
  
“And has,” said Rik with a grin “Ren and I, we come as a pair, also don’t let Ren’s appearance fool you…he is oddly way more agile than many take him for, not fast, but not as slow as he appears either. Ready to go Ren?”  
  
Ren nodded “yes, I might get you to show me how to use that crossbow though”.  
  
“Ok” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded “like I said, just because I do not like guns does not mean I cannot use one, or use a weapon Jadaini do not automatically react to a situation by going for their weapons it is not our way, but it does not mean we can’t use one, like the Psiblade, it is a tool, we don’t reach for our swords right away. Also, you don’t ignite it unless you intend to use it, Kimmi, ready?”  
  
“Yes,” she said.  
  
Ren nodded and they all left the ship, Ren picked up the medical bag that he and Rik were seldom without.  
  
“We have to get Kayla one of these eventually” Ren remmarked.  
  
“Yeah,” said Rik “Ok, let’s go…. Ren are you sure about this?”  
  
Ren nodded “yes”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “it’s just that your more sensitive, you ‘feel’ things more than I do”.  
  
“It is in my nature to do so,” said Ren “Ok let’s do this”, and together they left the ship, Kimmi trailing after them and the two Droids Bob and B80, as they couldn’t decide which Droid to take with them so they took both.  
  
“Bob is Force Sensitive too,” said Rik to Kimmi “ so he’ll probably find something first”.  
  
“That’s fine,” she said.  
  
Rik nodded “ as long as you know that” as he, Ren and Kimmie went to meet the team that was going down to investigate, the mining station had a small contingent of Sarisian military personnel assigned to it and that’s what they mainly were, they looked at Kimmie in some surprise.  
  
“She’s our Engineer,” said Rik to the team leader.  
  
“I was expecting your apprentice…..” he said.  
  
“Our apprentice is still too new and too inexperienced to face what we are about to face down there,” Ren said “ she is only 13 and still needs to learn how to shield properly. Kimmi, however, is a little more experienced; our Apprentice is a Healer as well. It will currently be too much for her”.  
  
“Ok….fair enough”.  
  
“It is not top secret?” Ren asked.  
  
“No….not yet,” said the Major (who was the team leader)“ as we don’t yet know what caused it…but they may change that depending on what we find. With you two been Jadaini and all, well you technically outrank me! So, I can’t stop you from getting involved as yet if we can at all”.  
  
“Understood,” said Ren.  
  
He nodded “Ok, shall we go then, we’re just a little surprised that’s all, we are grateful just to have two of the Order here, who are both medically trained, and willing to join us in our investigations” he paused “I warn you though we aren’t sure what we are going to find down there, it is a mess down there, we have managed to get life support back on for a limited period as it is damaged and sealed the breeches that we can find so that it can be investigated but it is indeed a mess down there”.  
  
“Any more casualties?” Rik asked.  
  
“Not that we can find, not since last night, the grand total it seems is 97 dead, one of the other victims died early this morning”.  
  
Rik nodded and sighed “I thought she might have” he knew exactly who he meant as he had tended to her last night “ actually the total is 98, the last victim, she was pregnant, I don’t even think she knew…..” he trailed off, and the low moan that came from Ren said it all.  
  
“Oh my.” said the Team Leader.  
  
“They didn’t pick it up right away due to her injuries, and the baby” Rik trailed off, this hurt him deeply “it was alive, but already dying when they bought her in…. I felt it die”.  
  
“Oh my…. _Rik_!” said Ren.  
  
Rik continued “it is why I’m glad you weren’t there when they bought her in, you would have felt it more and been affected more. She worked in the canteen, and her husband had died in the initial blast”.  
  
“Oh my…..Rik, I’m sorry” said Ren.  
  
Rik said, “I’m glad it was me and not you,” he said, he sighed “you would have found it harder” Ren lowered his head and Rik said, “Ren your more sensitive than me, you always have been”.  
  
“It just hurts! And I sometimes seem such a wimp compared to you! I’m a **Doctor** for goodness sake!” said Ren.  
  
Rik said, “I know, it hurts, but that is you who you are Ren!” he smiled then at his brother “ _truth is when the baby died, I very nearly lost it too_ ,” he said softer, and they joined the boarding party.


	12. The Mining Platform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers go to the Mining station with the investigative team and find some interesting evidence.

**Mining Platform One, Saris Prime, 2952**

**T** he first thing that struck Ren when they landed on the destroyed mining platform was the silence….it was almost deafening, it was scary, he’d been to the mining platforms around Saris Prime before, and there was always background noise of the machinery, and that, but this was dead silent.  
  
“We’re got life support back on, but it is damaged, most we can stay here is three or four hours before the air starts to get bad,” said the Leader of the team, he was one of the Sarisian militia, a Major by his insignia, he issued all of them monitors and a mask “there are areas that are still burning and active wires, so be careful, these monitors will tell you when the air Is getting bad”.  
  
Rik nodded and Ren listened, bad air they had found took longer to affect them both, they assumed it was because of what they once were, it would affect them eventually but not as quickly as it affected everyone else, they barely remembered that but it seemed to be some of the remaining after-effects of the Celestial being they had once been, it gave them a slight advantage over some things.  
  
It was the silence that bothered Ren the most, he decided, he’d been here before in his duties as a Doctor and it made him sad, all those voices silenced at once, the place felt empty, a husk of what it once was, and like Rik he knew that there were no more survivors, he often wondered if that was another thing left over from what they once were?  
  
“ _Our people they are not meant to be alone_ ,” he said softly.  
  
“Ren?” Rik asked.  
  
“Sorry,” said Ren “ just feeling a little overwhelmed by it all”.  
  
Rik nodded “ same here this place it shouldn’t be so silent; it is almost deafening” Ren looked at Rik “you've always been better at hiding stuff like that”.  
  
Rik nodded “ I guess”.  
  
Ren nodded and maintained his professionalism, he used it as a shield, crying he might be inside, but he wouldn’t let it show or get in the way of his professionalism, Rik did it too, although he sometimes came across as blunt, Ren always managed to come across as compassionate and caring and people tended to trust him more, they both used it as a shield, but it showed in different ways.  
  
Ren said, “So where do you want us to start?”  
  
The Team leader said “ start with the general areas, kitchen, canteen, that sort of thing, try to stay away from the more damaged areas that have been sealed off with forcefields, let the emergency services people tackle those, they are used to that type of thing. What we want you to do is see if you can find any more survivors or at least bodies and we would like to borrow your engineer if we may?”  
  
“Ok,” said Ren “Kimmie go with the team”.  
  
Kimmie nodded “Ok but did you want my droid?”  
  
“No, we have Bob,” said Rik “yours may be more useful by the investigative team”.  
  
“Ok,” she said.  
  
“I thought you were linked to the Justice,” the leader said to Rik and Ren “that is where I know you from now, a _Corran Pair_ is rare enough, let alone a **Jedaini** pair! So you stood out”.  
  
“We’re gone freelance,” said Rik “ we can always go back to the Justice if we want but we needed the well….break I guess you could say, especially with our apprentice and all”.  
  
“Our apprentice will do better with just us,” said Ren “besides with our own ship we can go places and do things we couldn’t help with the Justice, stuff like this”.  
  
He nodded “ weren’t you CMO though?”  
  
“Yes” said Ren “but I gave it all up as there is a time in everyone’s life when you need to find your way and it was mine” he paused “ we will try and see what we can do, but I think the chances of there been survivors is now pretty low”.  
  
“I know,” he said, “but we will still try”.  
  
Ren nodded “yes” and the team broke up and Rik and Ren wandered in the general direction they had been told to.  
  
“There will be no survivors,” Ren said, “you know that as well as I Rik”.  
  
Rik nodded “yes” he looked at Ren “sure you’re alright Ren?”  
  
Ren nodded “ the silence…it bothers me; there is something not right about it”.  
  
“The mining platform is badly damaged,” said Rik “they’re going to have to rebuild”.  
  
“There still should be some machinery going,” Ren said he looked around “ are you getting the impressions I’m getting” he paused “those, not sensitive can’t see it”.

  
Rik said “ you mean the afterimages on the walls of the people that were incinerated, yes I can see them; they are not ghosts just the impressions left behind” he indicated the walls which were scorched and pitted ‘ this is where the fireballs ripped through”.  
  
Ren nodded “it was so hot they all died instantly, not even leaving ashes behind, this is what bothers me Rik, 90 people died here instantly, it shouldn’t **be** this silent!”  
  
Rik suddenly realised what his brother was getting at “you think they were silenced **BEFORE** the fireball ripped through?”  
  
Ren nodded “this was sabotage Rik. I think they were gassed or controlled before the explosion; everything was turned off, life support, everything this was an inside job” he paused “we **think** the T’ron are shapeshifters”.  
  
“A smart bomb,” said Rik “placed by infiltrators”.  
  
Ren nodded “they were **let** in Rik, we know the T’ron have ways of controlling people, we’re seen it before, they were let in Rik this was no unfortunate accident”.  
  
“Ouch,” said Rik “this wall is hot, err sorry Ren.”  
  
“Didn’t feel it, ” said Ren “ we don’t share everything, Rik, not anymore.”  
  
“Oh Ok, it’s just that I know we also still share a lot of things”.  
  
Ren said, “we have given each other enough scars for a lifetime Rik”.  
  
“More than enough” he and Ren had matching burn scars on their bodies not to mention a various amount of others, the two of them had given each other scars over the years and they often joked that they had given each other enough scars for a lifetime.  
  
“This wall is still hot?” Ren said, pulling out a tool and scanning “do you think there is a fire on the other side? The fires as far as we know were put out by the emergency crews last night, what’s behind this wall?”  
  
Rik took out the 3D map that they had been given “I dunno, looks like a bulkhead or something, possibly one of the maintenance tubes”.  
  
Ren pulled out his power staff. It unfolded and knocked on the wall as Adepts were also trained in the use of a special kind of martial staff, called a Powerstaff, it wasn’t the weapon they were known for but they all knew how to use one.  
  
“Hollow,” said Ren “that needs checking to see if there is still fire within it, I think there still is, you can feel the heat, tag it Rik, we’ll tell the emergency crews about it”.  
  
Rik nodded and tagged it, they had been given a tagger for things like that, unsafe areas and such, fires and for any bodies, they might find.  
  
Rik said “wonder how far down it is” they wandered further in “ so you think that it is sabotage?”  
  
Ren nodded “they were let in Rik, we felt them die, they were let in, and it happened so fast….”.  
  
“Well it was quite sudden,” Rik said “ and there was a storm” he frowned “ I see your point though Ren the saboteurs quite possibly used the storm as a cover to come aboard, we may have to mention that possibility to the team”.  
  
Ren nodded “there is a war on Rik, stuff like this is not unknown if the T’ron take, out the mining platforms, they could cripple us for weeks!”  
  
“I was thinking the same thing and mentioned that to Kayla,” he said as he looked around “you are right though, the silence…it is deafening” he frowned “there should be some background noise! Even if a lot of the systems are dead, but there is only silence. That is a little alarming” he paused and looked at Ren “ can you feel the Way?”  
  
Ren said, “that is something else I noted like it is muted…..”.  
  
Ren nodded “look I admit I don’t spend as much time contemplating it as you do, but I know I have it and can use it so I do but even I can tell that it is muted…that it is not right. This soon after a disaster like this. It should be well a lot more active! It is like it is frozen or something”.  
  
“Like a hole…” said Ren “ which suggests that it wasn’t an unfortunate accident, the T’ron, they have that ability….like the Dorenganza they are elusive”.  
  
Rik said, “and they can blanket it, this wasn’t an accident Ren….this was sabotage”.  
  
Ren nodded “yes, we have to tell the team, I think there might be T’ron involved”.  
  
Rik nodded and touched another wall “think this one is connected to the other one it is hot too”.  
  
Ren looked at it and nodded “the mining equipment is ahead, but it might be unstable and dangerous”.  
  
Rik looked thoughtful and then grinned “ and since **when** has that stopped you and me?”  
  
Ren said “point. And they do need someone to investigate…”.  
  
They looked at each other, and Rik said: “ and since when have **Jedaini** obeyed orders, especially from the military if we think something should be looked into, its why we work under our own Charter?”  
  
“ _Hmm_ …” said Ren as he and Rik looked at each other.  
  
“Are you thinking what _I’m_ thinking?” Rik said smiling toothily at his counterpart and winking.  
  
“Yes” said Ren “ let’s investigate!”  
  
“That’s my Brother!” said Rik laughing and clasping hands with his Counterpart, their hands glowed, reacting to each other’s touch.  
  
Ren said, “you win, but it was our curiosity, that got us split up in the first place!”  
  
“And our perchance to blow things up! So?” Rik said with a shrug.  
  
Ren said, “you are right though, we **should** investigate”.  
  
Rik grinned, Ren loved a mystery! He loved solving them as well!  
  
“Rik and Ren are on the case!” Rik teased.  
  
Ren rolled his eyes and smiled “yeah”.  
  
“Well, let’s go huh?” said Rik “ let’s conduct our **own** investigation! We’re Jedai! They won’t question it so much!”  
  
“No they probably won’t,” said Ren, he looked at Rik “ that heat signature though… it is worrying, if there are fires they haven’t been able to find or get to there will be trouble”.  
  
“Well, let’s find it then and see if there is anything we can do about it or at least tag its position,” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded “ this floor is getting hot! There is a fire that has been unfound”.  
  
Rik nodded “yeah”.  
  
“We need to find it and tag it,” said Ren than he looked at Rik “ do you remember how to float?”  
  
“Err, it’s been a while,” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded “ for both of us” and then took Rik’s arm “ this way,” he said softly “it has been a while since we did it”.  
  
Rik nodded “yeah”.  
  
Their hands glowed as they linked up and Ren said “ concentrate” and he did and they both floated off the ground, using a combination of their powers and something else.  
  
“Whoa!” said Rik “forgot how this felt!” he clung to Ren.  
  
“Relax and feel the Way,” said Ren “trust in it, it has been a while since we tried this”.  
  
“I know,” said Rik “I will try and relax”.  
  
“I could try singing” Ren offered.  
  
“No way! You’ll probably hold **me** in place!” Rik said.  
  
“I haven’t done that in **years**!” Ren said with a smile.  
  
“No, but you can, and you know it”.  
  
“Relax Rik,” said Ren “ and I can only do that because I’m the other half of you, although admittingly I sometimes extend that….temporarily, it has never been my strong point”.  
  
“You can still do it,” said Rik “ you can straighten the ship or steady it”.  
  
“Only because it is Psionically sensitive and small, I can only do it on stuff like that, my shuttle, your starfighter, Serendipity is probably the largest I can do”.  
  
“You impressed River with it,” he said with a chuckle “whoa! Think I’m ok now Ren” he pulled out his tagger “ we need to tag this area” he drifted forward a bit getting his balance back, even extending his vestigial ‘wings’ a bit (they weren’t much good for anything else but he could glide with them) but they had discovered some time ago that they could still float although it took some concentration to get it off, once they did they were able to use it fairly well, it was an ability they rarely used though but they could do it if needed.  
  
Ren thought it was part of who they once were and their training combined, and it seemed an offshoot of their original powers.  
  
Rik grinned and spun around happily “forgot how _good_ this felt!” he said.  
  
“Rik! We need to concentrate!” Ren groaned.  
  
Rik said “ oh come on! We’re one of the few of the Order who can do anything like this!”  
  
Ren said, “I know, but our Corran powers, they probably make us unique”.  
  
Rik said, “ such as they are”.  
  
Ren said, “ you start on the other side, we need to find where the fires are and tagged them seeing it seems to have been left unchecked, things could get a lot worse if they don’t contain it”.  
  
Rik nodded and floated down one side, Ren’s Communicator beeped, he pulled it out and checked it and saw that it was the Investigative team leader.  
  
“Hello? Dr Ren here, what’s up?” Ren asked, “ is there a medical emergency?”  
  
“ _No_ ” came the reply “ _just checking in, why are you and Dr Rik down near the restricted areas?_ ”  
  
Ren said, “ Rik and I, we’re found an unchecked fire down here, we can’t see it, so we think it is in a maintenance tube or something, we’re down here tagging it”.  
  
“ _Serious_?”  
  
“Yes,” Ren said “ you may need to send some of the emergency service Bots in to put it out. Also, we’re um…sensing I guess you could say that something else is down here” he paused “trust us on this one Major, I know it is a lot to ask by just us ‘sensing’ something but trust us”.  
  
He paused and then said “ _I have worked with a lot of Jedaini in my time Dr Ren, so I trust your judgement and feelings… just be careful alright? We don’t know the full extent of the structural damage yet, especially down where you two are. It is one of the areas where the blast originated from that was why I was wondering why the two of you were down there._ ”  
  
Ren nodded “understood, but as I said there is an unchecked fire down here the whole corridor is hot, we’re tagging it so you can find it”.  
  
“ _Ok,_ ” he said “ _um do you need some hoverboards then_?” as Hoverboards as they were colloquially called (they were standard-issue anti-grav one person means of transport) were often used in places where the ground was too hot to walk on.  
  
“We can handle it with our Adept abilities,” said Ren “ but a couple will not go astray if you want us to investigate further”.  
  
“ _Ok, I’ll send two down for you…..I don’t like you been down there but you are probably the best ones for it, especially if you find survivors, bolted up or something if you were anyone else I would order you to come back now and send some of my people and emergency Bots down there. I have a ‘_ duty of care’ _to Protect Civilians, and you are technically that. But you are Jedaini Knights, and you have always worked under your own rules. But, do you want me to send one of my people down there as well or one of the emergency services crew? Or at least a service Bot of some sort?_ ”  
  
Ren said, “ we have a Droid, so just send down the boards, no reason to risk one of your people as well”.  
  
“ _Ok,_ ” he said, “ _will do so, out_ ”.  
  
Rik and Ren floated down and looked around and Ren said, “the fire it is like a living thing, it will spread if they don’t contain it and soon” he banged on another wall and tagged it and said, “tagged”.  
  
Rik said, “um Ren….come over here”.  
  
“What is it?” Ren asked drifting over.  
  
Rik pointed to a wall and said: “ err is that what I think it is?”  
  
Ren looked and nodded “ proof of our theories then of sabotage, although this one was found and didn’t go off” as he and Ren were looking at what looked like a T’ron or Scorpion bomb, it wasn’t active and was burnt as if hit by blaster fire.  
  
“Someone tried to stop it; they saw it probably just before the rest went off and fired on it,” Rik said as a two ‘hoverboards’ appeared via transmat, Ren took one and Rik took the other, and stood on it and started them up, they were easier than floating and they weren’t sure how long they could keep that up anyway as they were somewhat out of practice.  
  
“Bob, will you look at this?” Rik said to their Bot, who floated up and Rik pulled out a device out of his Droids storage compartment.  
  
Bob looked like a tin can and had seen better days, Rik had found him on the scrapheap on Saris 4 and had rebuilt the tough and battered little Mech, people thought he belonged to the Justice, but he was Rik’s.  
  
Rik and Ren were both very fond of the little Droid, and Rik spent hours fiddling with him and like, as they often said, RikRen had not been a model Healers apprentice, they had been overly curious, inclined to be mechanically minded, and had a bad habit of blowing things up, and it was probably why he and Ren were more likely to blow something up! It was how they had ended up here in the first place!  
  
He’d been experimenting with something he probably shouldn’t have been and it had blown up, Rik had gotten most of their technical knowledge although Ren was no dud himself when it came to stuff like that, it was just that Rik was better at it, he had a natural knack for it.  
  
“Think you can tell us whether it is still dangerous?” Rik continued.  
  
The Droid gave a couple of electronic beeps and clicks, and Rik said, “ not advisable, huh?”  
  
“Nope,” Ren said.  
  
“Do you mean it is still dangerous as in it could still blow up, or do you mean it is no longer dangerous?” Rik asked there were a couple of electronic beeps and his lights flashed.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “ let’s tag it then, need a bomb expert down here then”.  
  
“It’s active?” Ren asked.  
  
“No it’s currently disabled, but if not handled right it could still go off, we need an expert to come down here and disable it,” Rik said, “it is not about to go off, but if we try to move it or disarm it ourselves because it is damaged, it could still prove a threat”.  
  
Ren chuckled then “ **Us** pulling **anything** explosive to bits without knowledge could prove a threat!” he nodded and then added “ tag it and report it, I’m going to go see if there are anymore” he made his board move forward.  
  
“Too right!” Rik said with a chuckle “come on Bob lets follow Ren’s example they are relying on us upstairs to find something”.


	13. Ren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Rik separate to investigate more and Ren proves that he is more than just an gentle healer!

**Mining Platform One, Saris Prime, 2952**

**H** e heard a yelp from Ren then and said ‘ _Ren_!” kicking off his board and going after his brother “ **REN**!!” images of his gentle brother running into a T’ron or something, filled his mind with fear, Ren wasn’t helpless, but well….he **was** Ren!  
  
“It’s ok, Rik! I just fell off my board banking it too hard, and the grounds hot” Ren called back.  
  
Ren was on his knees and was getting up and he looked down at what looked like a hole that was still warm with jagged edges.  
  
“Blast origin, or at least one of them,” said Ren “it’s why I fell off my board because I quickly banked it when I saw it almost a little too late”.  
  
Rik came over to join him and looked down “wow!”  
  
Ren nodded “ they started from the tubes, that is where they mine the gases from”.  
  
Rik said, “ definitely worth tagging then”.  
  
Ren nodded “ already done so,” he got back on his board.  
  
Rik frowned “I thought something had gotten you”.  
  
Ren chuckled “Nah just my clumsiness and stupidity”.  
  
“Don’t **do** that!” Rik said.  
  
“Ok I’ll try “ said Ren “but Rik we can’t always wrap each other in wool though, we are both going to hurt ourselves occasionally” he paused “ we’re Jedaini Knights, we do stuff, that places us both in harm’s way!”  
  
“I know,” said Rik “but Ren….”.  
  
Ren said “ look at it this way, if one of us gets taken out, so will the other may be, we’ll both become part of the Way together! Or become Rikren again” he smiled “I’m fine” and then said, “ come we need to see what is down here”.  
  
Rik nodded “Ok…I guess”.  
  
Ren said, “Rik and Ren forever together, Rikren….we can’t change that but do be careful Rik, it goes down a **long** way!”  
  
Rik said “It is why I’m sending Bob down” he turned to Bob and turned his camera on “think you can do that for us Bob?”  
  
Ren said “ good idea!”  
  
“It’s probably too hot for either of us to do that,” he said, “Bob can handle the heat especially with the new heat shield I installed on him!”  
  
Ren said, “ so that’s what you were doing?”  
  
“Yep” said Rik.  
  
“Ok good plan,” said Ren he patted the little droid “be careful Bob” he was as fond of the tough little Mech as Rik was, Bob beeped.  
  
“We need you to go down that shaft for us,” Rik said, “ and take photos for us”.  
  
The Droid beeped and Rik nodded “yep, down you go Bob” the Droid beeped again and disappeared down the shaft, Rik and Ren both peered down.  
  
“I hope he’s going to be Ok,” said Rik.  
  
Ren said “ _Hmm_ … you stay here, Rik; I’ll go see if there is anything else I can find”.  
  
Rik nodded “ be careful Ren”.  
  
Ren nodded “I’m always careful, more or less, it is **you** who tends to forget that sometimes!”  
  
Rik said “ guess I do huh?” he looked at Ren “just be careful though Ren”.  
  
Ren said, “I will be, don’t worry, make sure Bob is Ok”.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik as Ren floated off.  
  
Rik said “ Bob be careful though” a beep answered him.  
  
**R** en floated along on his hoverboard looking for any evidence of sabotage or invasion, the impressions he was getting were all leading to that conclusion, this had been no accident, he wondered how he could convince the investigations party of that.  
  
Caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t see the body till almost too late, as his hoverboard almost tipped up again when he hit it.  
  
“Whoa!” said Ren banking the board so hard he almost tipped himself off again, but stopped in time, by grabbing the cord, making it stop “what the?” Ren said amazed getting off it and looking at the ground; there wasn’t much light down here only the emergency lights so everything was bathed in a reddish glow.  
  
Ren pulled out his single-bladed sword but didn’t ignite it and looked around, but he appeared to be the only one here, although he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.  
  
“Hello?” he called, but he heard no answer, so he turned his attention to the body on the floor, it was burnt so bad he couldn’t tell what race it had been at first, but then he realised it had been human or at least humanoid.  
  
“99 dead,” he said counting in the unborn baby “I will sing for them” this body was burnt so badly he couldn’t tell whether it had been male or female, but he did notice that in the victim's hand was a burnt-out remote control.  
  
“Our perpetrator perhaps?” Ren said “or maybe just another victim, _hmm_ ” he looked around, he had seen some dead bodies in his time, but this one… he then looked around why was the body here? Had they been part of it or were they trying to flee the scene?  
  
Ren picked up his communicator and beeped the Major, when he answered Ren said, “ Dr Ren here, I seem to have found another casualty….”.  
  
“ _Dead or alive_?”  
  
“Quite dead, I’m afraid and burnt beyond recognition,” Ren said, “I will tag it so someone can come and get it, but may I have permission to examine it?”  
  
“ _Consular Ren, you outrank **me**! Go for your life_” he replied, “ _you’re also a qualified Doctor so do what you wish”.  
_  
Ren nodded “I will proceed to examine the body than in the best way I can, but it is very dark down here, the only lights are the emergency lights” using his Adept powers he enhanced the light and went to examine the body “possibly male I think and human I think, hard to tell, two arms, two legs” he frowned as he examined the head “ now **this** is interesting…!”  
  
“ _What is it_?” asked the Major.  
  
Ren started he had momentarily forgotten that he had left the Comm on, but recovered and replied: “I can’t tell totally because of the burns, but it appears that something had gotten inside his head and in his brain”.  
  
“ _Brain Bug,_ ” said the Major _“ well that’s what we call them, they burrow into a person’s head and control them, we are not sure whether it’s T’ron, Scorpionaid or any of the other races that had allied with them, does his head have a huge hole on one side?_ ”  
  
“Yes” said Ren “it’s all burnt though, it is like his brain imploded or something, although extreme heat can do that to you too…it can also totally liquefy your brain”.  
  
“ _Hmm I have seen what a blast of this heat and intensity can do to you,_ ” he said, “ _you probably haven’t been on the front line much, no insult intended Master Ren._ ”  
  
“I’ve done some time on the front line,” Ren said, “but I admit, I probably haven’t done as much as you Major….seeing I was CMO and all on the Justice”.  
  
“ _You outrank me_!” he said “ _your bear the rank of Commander, don’t you_?”  
  
“Only because I was CMO on the Justice…and I probably haven’t earnt it” he replied “but you’re right, I’m not a Marine or an army officer so no I probably haven’t. But it looks like something was in this victims head” he paused steadying himself “I’ve tagged the body, I can’t examine it properly in this light….I’ve had Forensics training as well, but I need better light and equipment” he hummed a little to calm himself and continued “ do you want me to keep investigating? Rik’s checking the blast shaft”.  
  
He was told “ _yes do what you can; we might as well use the advantage of having two medically trained Adepts Knights here while we can. Are you sure you don’t want me to send a man down there though or at least a Bot? down there with you?_ ”  
  
“No I’m fine,” said Ren “ body’s tagged so you can transport it out” he stood up and moved back, starting the board up again and floated further in as he became aware of lights and crackling wires and saw that wires were hanging from the walls and ceiling and he noticed the heat had cooled off, found another disabled charge and tagged it and while he was doing that he saw movement ahead.  
  
“What the….?” He said.  
  
“ _Consular Ren_?” asked the Major.  
  
“There’s something alive down here, not T’ron though; it has a strong Force signature, Scorpionaid I think,” Ren said, pulling out his staff “permission to investigate and possibly engage?”  
  
“ _Consular Ren, you outrank me_!” said the Major “ _just be careful, I know how closely you Corran are linked to each other though_ ” Ren smiled to himself noone understood the Corran.  
  
“I will be,” said Ren, making sure his sword was in easy reach but not pulling it out, he walked forward and peered around a corner, it was a Scorpionaid, one of the general troops possibly one of the saboteurs and it appeared to be wounded.  
  
Ren paused a moment, Rik would have no hesitation in cutting it down but Ren was a different matter, he pulled out his communicator and said: “there’s a lone Scorp down here, it’s wounded though”.  
  
“ _Ok if you can capture it, do so,_ ” said the Major.  
  
Ren nodded “I will try” he paused and took a deep breath and walked forward “Ok,” he said to himself “you're trained in this, don’t freak out now!”  
  
**H** e stealthed and followed the Scorpionaid further into the area, hoping that he was been quiet, he turned off the board and got down onto the floor, the floor was cool enough to walk on here and kept an eye on his quarry.  
  
“ _Hmm_ , what are you doing?” he wondered quietly “up to no good, no doubt!” he paused for a moment, this wasn’t what he had expected he had to admit.  
  
Suddenly the Scorpion stopped, Ren hid behind a bulkhead, and it hissed and turned around, possibly sensing his presence, Ren saw it’s cold eyes focus on his general direction, it raised its gun and fired at him, Ren ducked out of the way amazingly quick and agile, using the Force, that took a lot of people by surprise that Ren was as agile as he was and using the Force he slowed the ray.  
  
Ren came up out of his dodge, unstealthing, and ignited his lightsabre using his blade to repel the bolts, in double-bladed mode, the Scorpionoid reared up and pulled out a sword on its own, a wickedly curved thing, in its extra arms (legs?) but it wasn’t a lightsabre, Ren ducked, hummed a little, put a shield up around himself and connected.  
  
For a while, the two combatants fought fiercely, but the Scorpionoid was wounded, Ren was not.  
  
Ren pulled off his cloak, revealing his whole form and jumped forward, using his martial arts (and the Way) to defend himself, he didn’t flip around or anything, but Ren knew his Martials arts and was dam good at them, and he had developed his fighting style that suited his odd shape, standing up straight he proved that he could fight and rather well at that!  
  
Ren dove at the Scorpionoid and landed on its back his blade flashing, using his tail and his powerful legs to their fullest advantage, he grabbed the Scorpionoids lower arms (legs?) and using both his strength and his Force enhanced powers, broke them, he ducked back and pulled out the two power knives he kept concealed under his robes and threw them, not aiming to kill but rather to cripple the Scorpion, with a cry he leapt into the air and landed on the Scorpions lower half, the part that was like a large Scorpion and avoiding the stinger, he totally disabled it and then drove his sword into the Scorpions back part temporarily paralysing it and wounded it, it slumped unable to move, Ren then cut the end of the stinger off, avoiding the ichor and dove out of the way, knowing that it would eventually grow back but right now it was immobilised, wounded and harmless, it hissed at him.  
  
“You’re a Drone, aren’t you?” Ren said then “ a soldier?” lowering his blade.  
  
The Scorpion hissed and yabbered at him, as it’s translator was broken, Ren couldn’t understand it but it clearly could understand him.  
  
Ren continued “you fought honourably, that is why I didn’t kill you. Also, it is not in my nature to do so if I can avoid doing so. So I won’t kill you, but I can’t guarantee that others will not.” the Scorpion picked up its sword again and made a feeble attack at him, Ren used the Way to pluck the sword out of its claws and caught it “ disarmed and wounded as you are, you cannot harm anyone else” he concentrated and using his powers he disarmed the Scorpion of all its remaining weapons, it tried to fight back but Ren was too strong for it in the ways of the Force.  
  
Humming a little under his breath, Ren formed some psionic chains to immobilise it totally; it slumped unconscious as a blaster shot came from behind him “do **not** mess with a Jedaini Shadowblade and _not_ expect to get burnt!” he added.  
  
“Consular Ren!” said a voice.  
  
“Ren!” said Rik “you alright!” Rik rushed up, concerned for his brother.  
  
“Rik!” Ren said, “I’m fine!”  
  
Rik grinned then “who says you can’t fight?” he said looking at the immobilised and unconscious Scorpionoid.  
  
“I didn’t shoot him,” said Ren, going up and checking it, seeing it was only stunned.  
  
“ **I** did,” said a voice and a female Marine came forward, probably from the boarding party “Major Levingston sent me down to find you Consular Ren, and Guardian Rik” she indicated the Scorpionoid “I have to say I’m **most** impressed with your fighting skills” as she eyed his still lighted Psiblade.  
  
Ren discharged the sword and said “ well what else did you expect? Corporal? **I’m** a Jedaini Shadowblade!”  
  
“Yes, but…well you’re a Healer”.  
  
Ren said “Corporal yes, I’m peaceful mainly, I’m a **Healer**! But when I need to fight, I will!”  
  
“Ren, you ok?” Rik asked.  
  
“Yes Rik, he’s not going anywhere! He’s not dead, but he is helpless” Ren powered down his sabre and said, “ all yours, although the body I would like to examine that, could you beam it to my ship?”  
  
She nodded “that’s the Justice isn’t it? It’s currently docked here”.  
  
“No _my_ ship is the Serendipity” Ren said “, we used to crew on the Justice but we’re recently gone freelance, the Serendipity is the Sunrise on Docking Ring four”.  
  
“Ok,” she said, “ and this fellow?”  
  
“He’s all yours,” Ren said, “ his translator is broken, so you will need someone who can understand their tongue to question him”.  
  
“Ok,” said the Corporal, “the Major says we should all leave soon seeing the airs starting to go bad”.  
  
Ren nodded “yeah I noticed that” he then said “ok teleport the body to the Serendipity and take the Scorpionoid with you, he’s wounded but not permanently and will heal…I think we can all conclude that this was a sabotage attempt and not an accident, now all we have to do, is find out why who and how?”  
  
“Ok,” said the Corporal and spoke into her comms unit “ Major we are ready to leave, but Consular Ren has asked if the body could be transported to his ship the Serendipity and that we can take the Scorpionoid prisoner”.  
  
The Major said, “ _ok permission granted Consular Ren_ ”.  
  
“Thank you. I will see what I can find”.  
  
“ _Ok,_ ” he said.  
  
“Me too,” said Rik “I got some data from our Droid, you might be interested in seeing”.  
  
“ _Ok,_ ” said the Major “ _but come back up, and we’ll call it a day, the airs starting to get bad, and we got some data that needs to be sifted through_ ”.  
  
“Ok” said Ren.  
  
“Permission to examine the data Major?” Rik asked then.  
  
“ _Guardian Rik, like Consular Ren, you outrank_ me _! So, examine all you want_!”  
  
“Ok thanks, Sir,” said Rik, “ and also permission to remain as part of the investigations?”  
  
“ _Granted, your Jadaini Knights, you operate outside our rules,_ ” he said, “ _you always have”._  
  
“Thank you, sir” both said.


	14. Alien Autopsy & Time with Kayla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren does the autopsy on the alien body and then Rik convinces him to spend some quality time with Kayla.

**Saris Prime Observation station- Serendipity**

“ **M** _mmm_ ,” Ren said as he did an examination of the body “height 6.0, humanoid but not human, judging by these strange structures on his head, possibly semi reptilian…. Burnt beyond recognition, but male”.  
  
“How can you tell it’s not human?” Rik asked as he was standing with Ren as he examined the body “could be just a mutant or something”.  
  
“Those bony structures on his head suggest it,” Ren said, “ I have to look up what race he is, but upon further examination, definitely male”.  
  
“Uh huh,” said Rik, he and Ren were hard to tell at a glance what gender they were, seeing their ‘ _parts_ ’ weren’t visible as they were mainly internalised until needed, but they were both fully male.  
  
Ren had cut the body open and was weighing the organs writing his observations down.  
  
“We’re going to have to do a dental check or something; he has been burnt beyond recognition, so I’m not sure what race he is!” Ren said, “ was one of the miners though and male, you can tell by his internal and external organs”.  
  
“Human enough,” Rik said.  
  
Ren said “ many races do! Especially if their near-human! This guy was. Rik, we **do** have them to only their not visible. Usually, we’re more Saurian”.  
  
Rik nodded and said, “ go on”.  
  
Ren said “ _hmm_ ” he paused as he looked at the victim's fingernails “ five fingers, and judging by their shape he was one of the miners, you can tell by their shape”.  
  
Rik nodded “ and the hole in his head, I’ve seen that before”.  
  
“That is the interesting part,” said Ren “it is like something had burrowed into his brain and when expelled his brain blew up, although it is hard to determine whether that was before the blast or because of it”.  
  
Rik said “ well that is why we’re also both fully trained in Forensics!” he paused and looked at the victim “ you’re probably not so used to stuff like this, I am. But we’re both gotten the training for stuff like this!” he frowned “ we need to dig deeper then and find some more clues….”  
  
“Exactly my thoughts!” said Ren “ it is the reason why **I** wanted to examine the body first!”  
  
Rik nodded “ yes humanoid, but not human, possibly Gorta-Trellian or dragonkin or something like that.”  
  
“Not Gorta-Trellian, “ said Ren “I can confirm that they don’t usually have five fingers, maybe even T’ron”.  
  
Rik nodded “that would be a find if they were T’ron, shame there isn’t much left of him…those protrusions though….I’ll look in the database”.  
  
“They were caught in the blast fire, so I don’t think they are T’ron, due to the head wound, why would they do this to one of their own?”  
  
“Point,” said Rik, he looked at Ren, noticing how drained and tired his gentle brother looked “want me to take over?” he asked softly.  
  
Ren said “I’m ok Rik….I’ve done this before” he picked up an instrument poked around in the victim’s head “Hello what’s this” and pulled it out and looked at it “looks like the remains of a carapace or something”.  
  
Rik nodded then “ Brain Bug, I’ve seen this before on a battle zone on that Bug world we went to a few years ago, you were in the medical centre, so you probably didn’t see it if we found them they were usually already dead”.  
  
Ren said “probably not. Gee, I feel so sheltered compared to you sometimes”.  
  
Rik said “ Ren you’re a Doctor, so am I, but I’m more of a Paramedic or a Field Medic, and I’ve had a bit more military training. You're worn out, so do you want to spend some quality time with Kayla? I can finish up here. You’re not the only one who has a degree in Forensics Ren….”.  
  
Ren said “ Ok, this day… the last two days, have been draining. Besides, I need to start showing Kayla how to shield, so she can come with us on stuff like this”.  
  
Rik nodded “try the Garden of Contemplation and Memory.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“The garden, silly! That’s what they have on its sign; it’s the name of it” Rik said, “ it is in the middle of the station, and that is what they call it”.  
  
“Oh,” said Ren  
  
Rik said, “ I’ll join you both later for a meditation session, but I will finish up here….write my notes and share with you later, but right now you need some timeout so go spend some time with Kayla, the child is our apprentice after all and it is time we started to _train_ her”.  
  
Ren chuckled “ don’t let her catch you calling her a ‘ _child’_ ;”.  
  
“I call her ‘ _Kid_ ’ she doesn’t seem to mind it so much”.  
  
Ren chuckled “yeah I guess,” he sighed “your right though I will wash up and go spend some time with our young Apprentice, don’t forget to note down your observations”.

**A** while later washed and changed, Ren and Kayla were walking towards one of the station's transports, the mining station above Saris Prime was large and was a self-contained city within itself, it had been originally being built for the miners and their families but had grown since then.  
  
“There’s a garden here?” she asked.  
  
“Apparently,” he said as they caught the transport.  
  
“Ok” said Kayla.  
  
Ren said “the calm surroundings will help us both I’m still bone-weary, and I have to meditate….I fell asleep last night, but first I need to teach you to the shield.”  
  
She nodded “ so I can join you.”  
  
“Yes,” he smiled at her “I only just noticed that you have a tuft of hair on your tail like mine”.  
  
Kayla said, “yeah I think it’s a clan thing”.  
  
He nodded “I didn’t notice it to now”.  
  
“I’m of the Gryphon clan or something,” she said.  
  
Ren said, “it makes sense if you're of the Gryphon clan or something”.  
  
Kayla said, “ so what’s your clan?”  
  
“I don’t have one,” he said “ Rik and I, we were one being once” he got into a carriage, and Kayla followed him.  
  
“I was so looking forward to the day you and Master Rik would come to claim me so I could become a **real** Jadaini! Some of my classmates haven’t even been chosen yet or have had a Master assigned to them or one interested in taking them” she said.  
  
“It’s not necessary,” said Ren “but it sure helps! Especially if you are a healer and will benefit from an Apprenticeship, Rik and I have been watching you since your early training, you are strong in the Way, Kayla, but we are a little surprised that they assigned you to **_us_**! Like I have often said I’m not even sure if Rik and I have the appropriate experience even to be considered Masters! Given GT ages and our background, we aren’t that much older than **you** are!”  
  
Kayla said, “guess we’re all in the same boat then”.  
  
Ren said, “ yeah, it is a Journey we will all complete together then”.  
  
Kayla said, “Master Ren I’m glad it was Rik and you though”.  
  
Ren said, “I only hope we can prove worthy of such an honour and as Masters”.  
  
Kayla said, ‘you will be!”  
  
Ren smiled at her “how about an ice-cream then? Or something like that I have a hankering for a big plate of chocolate ice cream and there is this great place I know”.  
  
“Serious?”  
  
Ren nodded “Rik and I found it last time we were here, it is not as good as the one we frequent on Saris 4 but it suffices, Rik and I…we have a sweet tooth”.  
  
“Ok,” she said.  
  
Ren said, “ we were one being once, and so a lot of our tastes are similar, Rik likes chocolate ice-cream as much as I do, we both like pancakes, maple syrup, bananas and so forth”.  
  
“Oh,” she said.  
  
“Rik and I’s background, it’s complicated …to say the least,” Ren said pushing the stop button on the transport and getting up, he and Kayla tapped their cards again and left the transport, Ren leading the way, for such an oddly shaped alien, Kayla mused, he moved slowly but steadily, he wasn’t fast but he wasn’t as slow as many would take him for either, and she knew that he was agile and lean.  
  
“You remind me of a Kamado Dragon or something” she remmarked.  
  
Ren chuckled “ _Hmm_ yeah I am in many ways, basically a big lizard!”  
  
She said, “ I wouldn’t say that dinosaur or dragon maybe, you both remind me of a Dragon or Dinosaur.”  
  
He chuckled “ yes well….”.  
  
Kayla said, “I felt like I well intruded on a private moment last night when I saw you in your quarters”.  
  
Ren said, “I was simply singing for the dead, I do strange things like that….”  
  
Kayla said, “I still feel I should apologise”.  
  
Ren turned to her and said “ no need to Kayla” his blue eyes regarded her kindly “It wasn’t like I was doing anything forbidden, or private or something I was simply singing for the dead”.  
  
Kayla said, “I recognise a death chant when I see one…one of my classmates sung one for her grandmother when she died and she asked us to join her”.  
  
“Corran honour the dead,” said Ren “I know the Song of the Dead, there is that power behind that song”.  
  
She nodded “ and power behind your voice, I felt it when I saw it, you were building power with your voice…that’s why I felt I had intruded”.  
  
Ren nodded “I use it for building power, but I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, I don’t do it a lot, but I’m sorry if I have led you to believe that I was ashamed”.  
  
“I guess,” she said, “I guess you did.”


	15. Time out with Kayla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla gets some time out with both Ren and Rik and Rik gets her a kitten!!

**Saris Prime Observation station.**

  
They went into an ice-cream parlour; there were about 20 flavours or so and not many other things mainly toppings, coffee and milkshakes and the like, Kayla looked around “yum”.  
  
Ren grinned “ so what flavours do you like?”  
  
“Um, Vanilla, I guess and chocolate”.  
  
Ren nodded “one bowl of vanilla bean and milk chocolate coming up, and you choose your topping and as for me, dark chocolate and mocha” he indicated the various toppings that were on display.  
  
She nodded and Ren gave them his order and ordered two iced chocolates as well.  
  
Kayla said, “um, thanks”.  
  
Ren grinned again and helped himself to some banana slices, maple syrup, hundreds and thousands, dark chocolate shavings and some jelly “ enjoy”.  
  
Kayla said, “ people are looking at us”.  
  
Ren said “ get used to it; they are simply not used to seeing two members of the Jedaini Order, a Master and his apprentice in of **all** places an ice-cream shop enjoying a bowl of ice cream” as both him and her were dressed in their Jedai robes, (Ren like Rik practically lived in his! And Kayla was still in the garb of a student).  
  
“Um yeah,” said Kayla.  
  
Ren smiled and sat down, Kayla joined him “ get used to it” he advised again “there is a certain mystical ‘ _quality_ ’ about been a member of the Order, that people don’t always realise that we are people too, that we have desires, likes and dislikes, and so forth, just like anyone, you can learn to use that quality as a shield if need be and for so much more, it is also an authority you can use, people think we are a little strange but they can’t deny that the universe would be a much worse place without us around” he took a sip of his iced chocolate and stirred it slightly.  
  
Kayla nodded “ok Master Ren” realising that it was probably him out of her two teachers she’d probably spend the most time with learning from, and she realised, she looked forward to that.  
  
Ren nodded and then said, “ lesson number one, try always to retain your dignity even if you are butt naked and covered in mud!”  
  
She chuckled “ did that happen to you?”  
  
“Rik and I both!” Ren said “ long story, and looking back, rather amusing as to how we ended up butt naked and covered in mud! But not so much at the time!”  
  
She nodded, she loved Rik’s happy-go-lucky and slightly roguish nature, but Ren, he was so kind, wise and gentle and she loved him too, and he was she thought more like a Jedai Master **should** be!  
  
Ren said “it’s a funny story how Rik and I ended up covered in mud and butt naked, which looking back is funny but not so much at the time” he took another sip and added, “Think I’ll order an ice-cream soda to go as well.”  
  
Kayla asked, “ are you alright Master Ren?”  
  
Ren nodded “ the last two days have been draining, it is why Rik told me to go spend some time with you as well, I’m more sensitive than he is and feel things more, I’m tired. But I’m ok, but it’s why you need to learn to shield as well. You’re a healer like we are, so you need to learn how to shield as well, so many Jadaini Healers get burnt out and it is one of our more rarer talents, and we don’t have enough. Rik and I can swing a sword and fight as well as any of our brethren, but our main ability is our Healing. Rik and I are Healers **first** , me moreso than Rik in many ways, he’s had some military training as well, but Rik is a Healer like I am, he describes himself as more of a Combat Medic or Paramedic, he is the one who's usually one of the first on a scene, I take over then when they are brought back, we’re both Doctors, Rik’s just more combat orientated and trained as such” he paused “ been a Healer is a lot harder than it seems though, we will teach you everything we know and if you choose to pursue it further as we did, we’ll support you on that too. Jedaini Healers are too few and we need more”.  
  
Kayla nodded “I know”.  
  
Ren nodded and continued “ but don’t let anyone ever think you are weak or soft; I tell that to everyone who’s a Healer”.  
  
Kayla nodded “I was the only Healer in my class although one of my classmates was good with animals, she’s probably my best friend”.  
  
Ren nodded “ that is one of the rarer skills as well, anyone claim her yet?”  
  
“Yes” said Kayla “ she was off on her apprenticeship about a week before I was, but like I said some of my classmates haven’t yet been claimed by a Master yet, but some of us are, but I was the only one who got two!”  
  
Ren chuckled “ Rik and I, we come as a Pair and always have”.  
  
“You’re a Corran Pair, or something aren’t you?”  
  
“Yes, like a small amount of the Corran we are Counterparts, we can survive pretty well on our own and have done so, but we are stronger together”.  
  
Kayla said, “ Rik said that you share a soul”.  
  
Ren nodded “I’m **literally** the other half of Rik,” he licked his spoon “it’s a long story but it’s the truth, so want an ice-cream soda? I like raspberry, lime or ginger beer myself but your choice”.  
  
“Ginger beer?” she asked.  
  
“Ginger beer it is then,” he said, “I like that too, although Rik says that Ginger makes him sneeze”.  
  
Kayla laughed as Ren ordered two ginger beer ice-cream sodas to go and once they got them they left the ice-cream parlour.  
  
Kayla took a deep sip of her soda and said: “ _Mmm_ I love ginger!”  
  
Ren nodded “I do too, Rik doesn’t so much, he says it makes him sneeze”.  
  
She laughed “ So you do have some differences after all?”  
  
“Yes! Rik, he also likes hot spicy foods! I don’t so much; Rik likes nothing better than a hot. Spicy curry, I prefer a milder one, Rik prefers coffee over tea and although I will drink coffee and quite like it, I also like nothing better than a hot cuppa! It is differences like that; he likes hot spicy foods, I prefer less spicy, although we do share a love of chocolate, Maple Syrup, Molasses, pancakes, bananas, and we also like a mix of all four” he laughed “ pancakes are about the only thing we can cook properly! We’re hopeless in the kitchen! Which is why it is great that both Saffi and Kimmie can cook!”  
  
She chuckled “yeah”.  
  
Ren asked, “ can you cook?”  
  
“Not very well….” She said.  
  
Ren nodded “ all the more reason why it is great that Kimmie can!”  
  
“She seems to enjoy it too,” said Kayla, “ she said she would bake a cake for us all”.  
  
Ren nodded “ warning though If Rik and I ever get into an argument, which we sometimes do, keep out of our way ok? we’ll work it out eventually” he rubbed his head “yeah just do that, I need to meditate….” As they came to the park “Riks right, I didn’t realise it was called _the Garden of Contemplation and Memory_ ”.  
  
Kayla said “ a garden on a space station”.  
  
“It’s more of a park than a garden,” said Ren “ ever been to the Botanical Gardens on Saris 4?”  
  
“Ages ago” she said.  
  
“We’ll take you there sometimes, **that** is a Botanical Garden!” he said, “ this is more a park, a piece of greenery in the middle of a space station, manmade but it will suit our purposes for now”.  
  
“Ok,” she said as they entered and she looked around and saw that they were in the middle of the station, so there was a good view of the rest of it, above them was the transport trains and the like, and she could also see the lifts that went from the bottom to the top, the station was quite large, and there was a fair population on it, mainly miners and people associated with the mining platforms, but it was also a place for wanderers, traders, diplomats all sorts of things a point of call for Saris’s Primes four moons and surrounding system, some of the other planets in the system were also primarily used for mining as well, with Saris 4 been one of the jewels.  
  
She’d been born on Saris 4 and so had Rik and Ren, she thought as they also spoke with the soft Sarisian accent.  
  
“You were also born on Saris 4, weren’t you?” she asked.  
  
“More or less,” Ren said “ it is not where we originally came from but it is where we were …. _born_ , I guess, that is where our song began” he smiled at her “come I will start teaching you how to shield”.  
  
Kayla looked at the new baby ducks and said: “ they’re so cute and fluffy!”  
  
Ren smiled and said “they are indeed, now sit down and I will start teaching you the basics of shielding yourself from impressions, if you learn it well enough we might be able to take you down with us if they ask for our assistance again on the site. You need to learn the basics anyway as you grow in power and skill, especially seeing you are a healer”.  
  
She nodded “Master Ondrina mentioned that I had been taught the most basic, but she said you would help strengthen what I already know”.  
  
Ren nodded “ healers they need something like this, too many burn out because they haven’t been taught right if **I** didn’t have these techniques I probably would have too. I’m more sensitive than Rik, and I, ‘feel ’ things more! So I will begin with Training you in these techniques as I’m probably the best for it “ he sat down “ here, take my hands” offering out his hands.  
  
She did so, Ren’s skin was leathery but smooth, his grip gentle but firm, he had three long fingers and a thumb on his hands, his hands were warm and large and covered hers if he had scales, they were small and barely noticeable, his hands were also callused, and there were what looked like a few old burn scars.  
  
“Rik has one just like this” she remmarked.  
  
“I’m not surprised, Rik and I, we share scars, we **gave** them to each other when we first came here,” he said.  
  
“You and Rik…. _ **hurt** _one another?”  
  
“Um yeah, we were confused, frightened and not entirely sure what had happened to us both and we well…attacked each other, until I realised what had happened and stopped us because I realised that if we continued we would **KILL** each other otherwise! We did not recognise each other or what we had become, or even ourselves! Now concentrate, close your eyes and attune yourself to the Way, feel it through your whole body, become aware of your surroundings and where you and the Way fit into them, become aware of the station itself and everyone in it, take it slow though, the Force and the Way is life itself, it is a living breathing representation of our universe it surrounds us all!”  
  
She nodded and took his hands and felt their connection to the Way and her connection, what did Kimmie call it? _The Force_? Although Rik and Ren had also coined the same term as well.  
  
Ren nodded and continued, his voice soothing “ now pick out someone who catches your attention”.  
  
“There are so **many**!” she said “ so many voices! Why haven’t I felt this before? Seeing Saris 4 has a lot more people?”  
  
“True it does,” said Ren’s comforting voice “, but the Academy also has safeguards in place to guard those within, to filter out stuff like that, this place does not, it is why you must **learn** this! Concentrate on **ME** Kayla, use me to centre yourself”.  
  
She felt a comforting warm, safe, presence surround her and recognise it as Ren’s unique signature, Rik’s was similar,she got the impression of an ethereal and beautiful being seemingly made of light standing over her, smiling at her gently, surrounding her in his warm, healing aura.  
  
“Wow!” she said “this is…..!, is **that** you? You're **beautiful**! Like an angel!”.  
  
Ren spoke again and this time she wasn’t sure whether he was actually speaking to her or whether it was straight into her head “ _use me to centre yourself Kayla_ ” he said.  
  
“What was that! is that what you are?”  
  
“No, but it is what we were” he replied, “Rik and I…Sssh now calm, use me to centre yourself, I will steady you and reach out, picture your mind as a hand reaching out”.  
  
Kayla said, “ you were a being of light!”  
  
“Not fully a being of light, and of darkness, you cannot have one without the other, Kayla it causes imbalance….there must be a balance between the two, you cannot have light without darkness, good without evil, stillness without motion, you cannot burn one out of you and keep the other…..our original people looked a little like angels, and probably if you saw one you would think they were, but they are not, they are just alien and like anyone they are flawed. But that is for another lesson and one Rik, and I will both teach you about one day. For now, use my strength to centre yourself and then reach out and find someone who catches your attention and is possibly in pain…”.  
  
She nodded “there is a child, she has fallen off her bike and has hurt her leg”.  
  
“Good enough,” he said, “ now try and shield her from the pain and try to shield yourself from the pain as well, take her pain away, pull it to yourself, but picture your empathy as a shield, turn it into one, I will help you”.  
  
He raised his arms building power with them “ steady now” he advised.  
  
“She’s crying,” Kayla said.  
  
“Try and take her pain away,” he said.  
  
She nodded “I can do that; it’s well shielding myself from the pain that is the hard part!”  
  
“I will help you,” Ren said, “ concentrate on the little girl”.  
  
She nodded “ she’s Gorta-Trellian! Probably why I found her! Now to take away her pain, I can do this” she concentrated and felt Ren boost her and she smiled at the gentle, kind feeling she got from him.  
  
Ren said “ now concentrate and put your shield up, so you dull the pain” she nodded and did so and visualised her empathy as a bright shiny light although it was dull compared to the pure light Ren was emanating and she felt his presence in the Way, he was strong, one day I’ll be like that, she thought, and Ren said, “ well done not bad for a first attempt”.  
  
“I did it!” she said.  
  
Ren nodded “just remember to visualise it as a shield if it helps”.  
  
She nodded and felt Ren disconnect from her, regretting losing the feeling of the white healing light she had felt from him while connected.  
  
“You are going to need some practice to perfect it,” he said softly “ to boost it up and become stronger at it, but you are indeed a Healer, but one little girl's pain is nothing compared to a disaster zone”.  
  
“Is the little girl going to be alright?” she asked “ that so could have been me long ago”.  
  
“She will be,” said Ren, he looked up at the Gravtrain above them a slight frown creasing his features, as Kayla bought some food to feed the baby ducks.  
  
Ren joined her and for a moment they just both fed the Ducklings smiling at their antics in silence, Kayla truly felt that she was now their apprentice she had seen older apprentices and their masters fighting side by side as one and hoped that, that would be her and Rik and Ren eventually, you didn’t really need to be apprenticed to become a Knight, but it sure helped!  
  
“ _Something is in the air; a storm comes_ ” Ren suddenly said softly.  
  
Kayla said “Master Ren, what **WERE** you? That being …it was beautiful! But so, alien!”  
  
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Ren said “it was long ago and in another life, and I wasn’t happy, I am now, Rik and I, we are much better off as we are now” he turned to her “ well done Kayla you're taking your first steps along a **very** **long** Path!”  
  
Kayla said, “I hope I helped”.  
  
“You did,” said Ren he stood up again as he had been crouching feeding the ducklings, due to his height, “ come let’s go meet Rik, we got back in time to meet this person for the courier run, we do need the money, and this was too good an opportunity to pass up”.  
  
Kayla nodded and followed Ren; Ren led her to another transport, and they both got on, Ren put his card on the reader as did Kayla and they sat down.  
  
Ren said “ let me do the talking though; we need to broker a deal with this guy” he smiled at her “watch and learn”.  
  
She nodded as they waited for their stop and got out when they got there it was outside a bar, Ren walked in, looked around for Rik and felt his ‘ _sync_ ’ start-up and went to join his counterpart and what looked like a Tolnedran which was a humanoid/Reptilian race from the planet Tolned, they were big, blocky and came in several different colours, their planet was heavy grav, this one was dark blue with grey markings, and they were often found as miners, driving freighters and mining ships all across the galaxy.  
  
Rik said “Ren! This is Braxis! He’s the one with the courier run supply we were looking at, Braxis this is my brother Ren! And our apprentice Kayla”.  
  
“Your **both** Jadaini?” he asked.  
  
Rik said, “yes, err is that an _issue_?”  
  
“No just unusual,” he said.  
  
“You said you had a supply courier run to planet Asfarus and that you were looking for someone with a fast ship and willing to take a few risks,” said Rik “ we’re interested in the job if it is still available”.  
  
Braxis said, “it’s in enemy-occupied territory, it’s for the resistance on the planet, that is why I stipulated that you had to be willing to take a few risks I can give you the codes to pass the checkpoints, but you do need a fast ship”.  
  
“We have a fast ship,” Rik said “it’s called a Sunrise, hybrid Cruiser/Freighter, believe me, it can go fast especially with my brother at the helm, Ren’s the best damn pilot of shuttles and freighters that I know! But we’re just gotten her so we kind of need some fast cash….”.  
  
He nodded “the supplies are non-perishable but essential, salt that sort of thing but it is in occupied territory”.  
  
Rik nodded “ we are willing to take a few risks”.  
  
He nodded “jobs yours then; I’ll pay a third up front, the rest when delivered, one rule though, **don’t** mention my name!”  
  
Rik nodded “you're wanted by the T’ron?” he asked.  
  
Braxis said, “ amongst other things, I know you Jedaini are a little strange but you are usually good at your word and know how to be discreet, if you do this successfully for me, maybe I can do you a favour in return, such as come by some other work for you or send some your way, perhaps even a couple of bounties maybe?”  
  
Ren said, “ the Jedaini don’t usually take Bounties as a rule….” He started.  
  
“Ignore Ren!” said Rik glaring at his counterpart.  
  
“Ok then,” said Braxis “but I might be able to come by some other work for you if you are willing to take a little risk and perhaps got slightly outside the law…”.  
  
Ren said “ as I was saying…we don’t usually take bounties as a rule unless said bounty is justified, Bounties we are more picky about but if by outside the law you mean running weapons or something aren’t you? Or getting someone or something off-planet…that sort of thing right? Do not lie to us; we can tell if you are”.  
  
Braxis said “ something like that”.  
  
Ren nodded “ depending on circumstances and job, we may be open to that, material wealth doesn’t really matter to us, but we have just bought a ship and gone freelance so we do need the money” he paused “ we used to crew on the Justice, we shall do this for you Braxis”.  
  
He nodded “ here’s the details, the inventory of the items and where do you want me to send you the funds?”  
  
Rik gave him the details and they finished up, Braxis said: “ remember do not mention my name or that you got the job from me or the deals off”.  
  
Ren nodded “you have our word as Adept Knights”.  
  
He nodded and then finished his drink and left the bar and was gone in the crowd.  
  
“Whoa!” said Kayla “was he been _entirely_ **honest** with us?”  
  
“Nope,” said Rik “but the jobs real enough” he looked at the manifest “I wouldn’t trust him entirely but the job is real enough, so’s the pay”.  
  
Kayla said, “ wonder what he did to be wanted by the T’ron?”  
  
“Probably not the T’ron who **want** him,” said Rik, he smiled at Kayla “ you get scoundrels like that all over the universe Kayla and the fact that you detected that he wasn't honest says a lot for you. But you learn to recognise them, that is where been a Jedaini comes in handy, his money is real enough though and so’s the job although I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few ‘ _illegal_ ’ items amongst our cargo”.  
  
“But is that allowed? I mean are we **allowed** to do that?”  
  
Rik said “there is a war on Kayla and it is for the good of all. These supplies are going to the resistance on Asfarus, welcome to the real world, also basically Ren and I, we’re broke”.  
  
Ren nodded “yes” he looked at the available jobs Rik had written down “ the medical supplies?”  
  
Rik nodded “I got through, they said we could take it, they’re not overly time-sensitive, it’s to be taken to the colony on the planet, all perfectly legal and legit, if a little risky, also I found another, educational supplies to the same planet, I took that one too, it’s in the neighbouring system to Asfarus and is on the way, all these courier jobs should set us up well and allow us to recap some funds on the Serendipity, there is a war on and people are willing to pay well for anyone willing to take a little risk”.  
  
Ren nodded “I also checked that bounty”.  
  
“And?”  
  
“Dangerous, a little risky, but justified,” said Ren “he is wanted by several different worlds for multiple crimes, so they want him captured alive and taken to Telgris, we’re done that before”.  
  
“Isn’t Telgris occupied by the T’ron? and ruled by those Bird people or something, who look a little like Rik but aren’t?” Kayla asked.  
  
“Yes, but the T’ron couldn’t stop the prison from operating, it’s too much of a commodity and as to the _Bird People_ holding it, well they have no love for the T’ron” Ren said sharing a look with Rik.  
  
“I thought Bounties were to kill someone,” said Kayla.  
  
“Some are, some aren’t,” said Ren “ some just want someone bought to justice and they want them alive, but it does mean we do need to all apply for a license to go after Bounties.”  
  
Rik nodded “ already got that under process, I knew you would agree to that one”.  
  
Ren sighed “ you know me too well Rik”.  
  
Rik said, “ we’re taken bounties before with the Justice, so I knew you would probably agree to that one”.  
  
Ren said “ _Hmm_ ” and went to the bar and ordered two drinks and a soda for Kayla; they accompanied her so it was ok for her to be there.  
  
“Enjoy your first time in a grown-up bar,” said Rik to her “you're growing up and in the real world now Kayla” he stirred his scotch on the rocks and took a long sip, as Ren opened his beer.  
  
“I didn’t think you’d be the type to be fond of beer,” Kayla said.  
  
Ren said “I like beer well enough” he indicated Rik’s drink “ don’t drink too much of that Rik, Sarisian Beer, I like our native brews”.  
  
She chuckled “ _Mmm_ yeah” she looked at Ren and Rik “if one of you gets drunk, does the other?”  
  
“No,” said Rik “although we might get the sympathy hangover”.  
  
Ren said “ yeah your done that enough” he looked up as their buzzer went off for their steaks and got up and got them.  
  
“Ok,” he said putting them down “ eat up Kayla, they make a nice one here, Rik and I love their steaks!”  
  
“Want a Brandy Ren?” Rik asked.  
  
“Maybe just a small one,” said Ren “ after the last two days, I _need_ one” and cut his steak.  
  
“Sarisian?”  
  
“Of course!” said Ren.  
  
“Me too,” said Rik and he went and got them a small brandy each.  
  
Kayla said “I’ve never been in a bar…I mean you won’t get into trouble, will you?”  
  
“Place like this…no,” said Rik “besides your allowed to be in a bar if underaged as long as you are accompanied by an adult or someone who is of age, Ren and I are adults, your also our Apprentice, so it’s ok”.  
  
She nodded “Ok”.  
  
“Although sometimes I _wonder_ about Rik,” Ren said with a sly grin.  
  
Rik said “ swear you got some of me as well! And me, probably a bit of you in kind” Ren shrugged and drank some more of his drink.  
  
“But **whose** apprentice, am I?” she asked.  
  
“Probably more Ren’s than you are mine,” Rik said “ he’s stronger than me but we are both responsible for you, you will learn from us both” he paused and took a sip of his Brandy “Ren and I, we come as a pair, also” he leaned over and picked up a cat carrier and handed it to Kayla inside curled up fast asleep was a white Crasolian kitten, it’s tiny little wings folded down “this is for _you_ Kayla”.  
  
Kayla’s eyes widened and she looked at Rik and Ren and said “Oh my! She’s beautiful! Where’d you get her?”  
  
Rik said, “ from the animal companion adoption centre, there was this whole litter of them. Apparently, the mother had died, I saw this one and instantly thought of you, it’s about eight or nine weeks old and is weaned, they called her Ivory but you are free to change her name”.  
  
“Ivory I like Ivory,” she said.  
  
He nodded “it has blue eyes that won’t change and is not deaf, consider it a present from us both”.  
  
Kayla said “ this is….I had a cat but I lost her…oh, Master Rik, Master Ren, thank you!” and hugged them both.  
  
Rik nodded and Ren smiled and said “ enjoy it” he then turned to Rik “you snuck a _cat_ into the bar?”  
  
“It is in a cat carrier!” said Rik.  
  
Ren said “ true”.  
  
“It’s a mining station! They don’t care” Rik said, “besides it’s in a carrier”.  
  
Ren said, “ guess people have snuck in worse” he took a sip of his brandy.  
  
Kayla said, “ she’s beautiful!”  
  
Rik nodded “yeah she is, I’m glad it made you smile Kayla”.  
  
Kayla said, “ she’s fast asleep at the moment”.  
  
Ren nodded “ maybe it’ll be best if we took her back to the ship”.  
  
Rik nodded “yeah” he finished his Brandy and went to pay, and they headed back to their docking bay and their ship.


	16. The Calm before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning- Warm and Fuzzy Chapter, cake, kittens and games!!***
> 
> More time spent together as a crew.
> 
> The Crew spend a quiet night together as a crew. Getting to know each other .

Once inside they detected great smells coming from the kitchen/galley area, they walked in, and Kimmie was at the stove and Saffi the Hostess droid was helping her.  
  
“Gingerbread!” Kayla said delighted recognising the smells.  
  
“You’re right, and ginger cake,” Kimmie said, “I found it in a recipe book, and Saffi offered to help me make them”.  
  
Saffi spoke then “I know millions of recipes Mistress Kim, from all over the universe _!”  
  
_Saffi was built to look like a human woman, although she was silvery in colour with blue lights for eyes, and was currently clad in an apron although she was probably more Android than she was Droid and she enjoyed cooking.  
  
“Gingerbread!” said Kayla “yum!”  
  
“Should be ready for consumption soon,” Saffi said as Kayla left the kitchen with her new pet.  
  
“You got her a _Kitten_?” Kimmi asked with a smile.  
  
Rik shrugged “thought she might enjoy it”.  
  
“Rik you’re a big softie,” Kimmi said with a chuckle “it’s **Ren** who is more reserved!”.  
  
Rik said “Ren’s a softie too, it’s just that he tends to worry too much about thing and is more practical than I and yeah he probably is a little more reserved, in many ways, but like me, he uses it as a shield he ‘ **feels** ’ things more intensely than I do, the number of times I have found him curled up in a ball crying or he’s gotten sick because of something…he tends to use his reservation and professionalism as a shield but it doesn’t always work” and went after his counterpart worried about him.  
  
Ren was going through the cupboards in the Medlab and taking note of what they would need and writing them down and looked up when Rik came in.  
  
Ren said, “the Justice has generously offered to send us a couple of containers of medical supplies, they said that they would unmark them so we can’t be accused of stealing them, over to us, I wanted to turn them down but Captain Silvermist insisted, she said it was the least she could do for us, to get us a start off….she also offered to send someone from the Justice over as well, but I said we had a crew already and Master Ondrina was good at her word, she transferred us some funds apiece into our shared account, courtesy of the Jedai Council and even some to Kayla, I didn’t realise we had so much support and so many friends”.  
  
Rik nodded “I think Master Ondrina still feels somewhat responsible for us seeing she found us and still sees herself as our mentor and sponsor.”  
  
“And perhaps a sort of surrogate mother” Ren said “I mean we might have been full-grown but gee! We were newly **born**!” he looked down at himself “Saris 4 was where we were born, and we were alone, we only had each other! So, I agreed to the offer and gave them a list of what we needed, which was _everything_ , we got tools but nothing to use them with! And we needed stuff like aspirin, penicillium, more basic first aid supplies, and we need to talk to the girls ask them if they need anything? Or whether they have underlying medical conditions, or allergies and whether Kayla’s ridges have fully come out or are in the process of doing so, she’s 13 so’s she’s the right age for either”.  
  
“Oh yeah, I forgot about… _that_ ” Rik said “I should have asked her, it’s not like it’s personal or something, all GT get them. I told her to get what she needed for personal use, but I forgot to ask her about her ridges”.  
  
“I’m sure the girls have taken stuff like that into account, but we need to ask her anyway,” Ren said, “you're treated enough GT, just like I have and you know as well as me that Kayla is at the right age for either her ridges to be coming in or have already, some of them have them by the time their 13, male or female”.  
  
Rik nodded “Ok we’ll ask them at dinner then, we do need to take inventory and know stuff like that so what else do we need?” for another hour or so he and Ren went over what they needed, and Rik realised that Ondrina had indeed been generous, she had sent them enough to get by on until things started to pay for themselves. Also as Rik found out, Braxis had been true to his word and had transferred a third of what they had agreed up into their account with a message where to pick the goods up and where to drop them on Asfarus.  
  
“I wonder what Kingpin or Crime Lord he’s run afoul of,” Ren said with a slight smile, he and Rik had run into scoundrels before like Braxis, most of them weren’t evil, just slightly grey and they had their code of honour.  
  
“We probably don’t want to know,” said Rik “ although he seems good at his word and if we follow his rules, we might be able to get him as a regular customer and employer”.  
  
Ren nodded “I’ll make some discreet enquiries. Maybe we could do him a slight, _favour_ , in the future…..”  
  
Rik nodded and grinned, Ren wasn’t above going ‘ _above the Law_ ’ sometimes, depending on the circumstances, the Adept Order wasn’t beholden to anyone but themselves, they worked basically for the ‘ _good_ ’ of all and if it meant sometimes going ‘ _outside the law’_ they would do so.  
  
Rik said, “Ok, let’s go see if there is anything more we need for the crew”.  
  
“I’ve got a total list more or less of basically what we need, but I’ll ask anyway,” Ren said.  
  
They went and joined the girls as Kimmi had reheated the bolognaise and had set the table for them all, fresh bread rolls and butter sat in the middle of the table and a teapot full of tea, which by its smell was Ren’s favourite brew, a pitcher of water sat on the table as well and one of the girls, possibly Kimmi or Kayla had even put a vase of flowers on the table and a tablecloth, the scene was homely and pleasant.  
  
“We need curtains for the portholes,” Kimmi said as she walked in “I know that they’ll be mostly closed but it’ll be nice, I’ll set about making some at once!”  
  
“I agree!” said Kayla “ and we can open those if flying, their covered.”  
  
River smiled and said, “forgive Kim, Rik, Ren; it’s just that well you're given us both a home at last”.  
  
“You already feel that?” Ren asked.  
  
Kimmie nodded “for the longest time we've been well… _drifters_ , but you and Rik have given us both a home at last, and a ship to crew on…”.  
  
Ren said, “well I’m glad you feel that way, it’s not going to be easy though for a while until we get ourselves established but I’m glad that you both feel a part of the crew”.  
  
“You even got Kayla a kitten!” Kimmie said with a chuckle, as said kitten was awake and currently in a corner playing with a ball, it was too young to fly yet but it’s tiny, folded wings were a cute sight to behold.  
  
“Every ship needs a cat!” Ren said.  
  
“She likes Ivory,” said Kayla.  
  
“Ivory it is then,” said Rik sitting down and pouring himself some tea, unlike Ren he preferred coffee over tea but he drank tea as well.  
  
“Thanks so much, Master Rik, Master Ren,” said Kayla then “ for the kitten”.  
  
Rik said “ glad you like it Kid” he indicated Ren “Ren wants to say something to us all”.  
  
Ren nodded “I have been doing an inventory on our medical supplies as the Justice has generously offered to donate us some containers of supplies to use, as we don’t have much more than basic first aid supplies at the moment, so I need to know some stuff so I know what to ask for”.  
  
“Go on,” said River “Kimmie and I, we have our first aid kit too”.  
  
“Ok,” said Ren “Kayla. I’m asking you this because I need to know, your ridges? Have they come out? or are they coming out?”  
  
“Her what?” Kimmie asked.  
  
Kayla said non-plussed “ pretty much done Master Ren, Master Ondrina made sure I had some cream for them, but I haven’t had to use it for a while”.  
  
“Ok,” he said, “I was going to get one of the other girls to do them for you if they were still coming out”.  
  
Kayla said, “I forgot that you are also a Doctor, I should have mentioned it”.  
  
“Ok I will get you a couple of extra tubes though, even when they come out they can still get infections under them,” he said writing that down “believe me I have treated a few Gorta-Trellian in my time, Justice had a _lot_ of them, I’ve always admired your race, anything else I need to know, I know about the penicillin”.  
  
“I have never gotten a reaction to it,” said Kayla “ maybe it is because I was born on Saris 4 or something, it seems to work ok on me”.  
  
“Not all GT get it,” said Ren “ it’s about a 50/50 chance, so we can use penicillin on you?”  
  
“Yes,” she said.  
  
“Ok,” he said “I took the precaution though and got the alternative anyway, speaking of that, Kimmie, River, are either of you allergic to penicillin? As I know some humans are” it was when he made statements like that it reminded them that he wasn’t human and nor was Kayla!  
  
“No,” said River.  
  
“No,” said Kimmie.  
  
Ren nodded “our race, Rik’s and I, we are the same, 50/50 when it comes to penicillin, and sometimes it doesn’t always work even then” he paused “ anything else any of you would like to tell me, underlying medical conditions or something?”  
  
“No,” said Kimmie.  
  
“No,” said River.  
  
Kayla said “ no”.  
  
Ren nodded “ fair enough, but I’m a qualified medical Doctor, as is Rik so you can always ask either of us if you want to talk privately, I also have a qualification in Counselling too…”.  
  
“What’s Kayla’s ridges?” Kimi asked.  
  
Kayla said, “ GT we get these well…we call them _Ridges_ but they’re the remains of scales on our backs along our spines, when we get to around my age, they go down our backs along our spines all adult Gt get them”.  
  
“ _Scales_?” River asked.  
  
“Gorta-Trellian are descended from Dragonkin,” said Ren “ so they still have some offshoots from that, their ridges are part of that, Kayla if you do feel pain in them though, come see Rik or me if they start to hurt or get itchy, you can get infections under the scales, regardless of age”.  
  
“I know,” she said, “I had one, it’s cleared though now”.  
  
Ren nodded “ok” and sat down and took a bowl of Bolognaise and helped himself to some bread “if there is anything any of you want to discuss privately you can come to see either of us too” he paused “guessing since your ridges have come in, you had your first Cycle too, Kayla?”  
  
She nodded “yep”.  
  
“Ok,” he said leaving it at that.  
  
Rik helped himself to some Bolognaise as well and said “this tastes even better since it’s been in the fridge overnight! And helped himself to the Parmesan cheese which was fresh “ do you know how to make Chilli Con Carne, Kimi?” he asked.  
  
“Yes” said Kimmi “ and so does Saffi”.  
  
“Rik likes extra Chilli in his,” said Ren “ and he also loves Chilli dogs”.  
  
“more Chilli the better,” said Rik with a grin which showed his teeth.  
  
Ren groaned “ too much tends to upset my stomach though, I don’t think my stomach is made for overly hot foods!”  
  
“Your such a wimp when it comes to spicy foods Ren!” Rik teased “he ends up groaning in bed, which naturally starts **ME** off as well!”  
  
“Rik!” Ren groaned “ but it is true” as he buttered some bread.  
  
Kimmie said, “ I know how to make a **really** hot curry!”|  
  
“Sounds good,” Rik said.  
  
“It can make you breathe fire!” Kimmie continued.  
  
“Ouch, that may be a little dangerous to your insides!” Rik chuckled “ especially seeing Ren and I have a tendency to blow things up!”  
  
Ren asked, “ literally breathe fire?”  
  
“Uh huh,” said Kimmy “it’s the spices in it when they react to your digestive juices, you can literally breathe fire with it temporarily, but you don’t do it too much, it’s a great party trick, there is a more well….toned down variation it just keeps you warm inside if you’re on an ice planet or something”.  
  
“Like Saris 2! Although that’s a moon” said Kayla.  
  
“More like Asfarus,” said Ren “ Asfarus is beautiful, but it is very cold! Glaciers that gleam in the night, crystalline creatures made of ice, a sky that changes colour at night. The Resistance has built a base there, but it is in occupied space, but that is where we are going once we leave here. That is one of our courier jobs, we will leave in two or three days, as there are also medical and educational supplies that need to be delivered to a neighbouring system”.  
  
They all nodded and Rik said, “ so I hope your both got some winter woollies gear, River and Kimmie, If not we could probably buy you some”.  
  
“Yes, I have,” said Kimmie.  
  
“Me too” said River.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik “ we do have some spare cash if you need it, due to the generosity of Master Ondrina and some upfront payments” he lit his pipe and continued “ so feel free to use some of it”.  
  
Ren rolled his eyes he didn’t fully approve of Rik smoking but he’d probably earnt it over the last two days and it wasn’t like he smoked a lot anyway.  
  
Rik continued “I’m beat, it feels good just to relax”.  
  
Ren nodded “I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep tonight” as Kimmie offered ginger cake around.  
  
Rik said “ ginger usually makes me sneeze but it is baked into a cake it should be fine” he took a piece and took a bite “yum! You know how to cook Kim!”  
  
She chuckled and said “ thanks Rik”.  
  
Rik nodded “ we’ll stick around for another day or so but then we have to go the medical supplies especially need to get there” he stood up and stretched and sat back down again.  
  
“We’ll wait for the other deliveries,” said Ren.  
  
“Ok,” said Rik, he paced a bit and then came back and sat down and said “ sorry I’m restless, I feel like somethings going to happen to us all…something exciting!”  
  
Ren chuckled and said, “I for one want a quiet night so that I can meditate or read or work on my drawing or something….”  
  
“You draw?” Kim asked.  
  
“Yeah, we both do,” Rik said, “ Ren’s just better at it”.  
  
Ren said, “I like to draw” he paused “ and write, some occasionally, it’s a sort of release” he poured himself more tea.  
  
Rik said “ yeah” he smiled at Ren and floated an apple across to himself, Ren grinning floated one up himself and then added an orange and another apple.  
  
“Show off!” Rik said.  
  
“Ren’s stronger than you?” said River.  
  
“In many ways yes,” said Rik and then to prove a point he added some more fruit and soon they had a whole orbit “, but this is easy!”  
  
“Can I!” Kayla said wanting to be in on the fun “Master Ondrina, didn’t like us well ‘playing’ like that too much”.  
  
“Don’t’ we know it!” Ren said “ she was our master as well! the trouble with you GT, like us you live for a long time!” he smiled at her then “ don’t worry Kayla **we’ll** let you ‘ _play_ ’ a little with the way it’s good to practise, River too, speaking of which Rik, where are our practice crystal balls?”  
  
Rik lowered his fruit then Ren his and Rik said “ back in a moment” he got up and walked out and then came back later with a box of crystal balls, and a few foam ones and a couple of others like tennis balls, a basketball, and a couple of cloth ones, one of which he threw at Ivory, who leapt at it happy to have a new toy.  
  
At their confused looks he said “there was a game we played on our original homeworld, it was meant to improve your ability to fly and that, we used crystals, Ren and I altered it somewhat and got a whole pile of crystal balls made, it is one of the few things we both remember from….before” he paused “and I am not sure if we originally invented it”.  
  
“Fly?” River asked.  
  
“Our original people, they well…hover…I guess you could say, levitate, Ren and I can do it too, still, but we’re out of practice”.  
  
“You can levitate?” Kim asked.  
  
“Yeah,” said Rik and without another world did so “ we can do it for a while but it takes a little concentration like I said we’re out of practice” Ren joined him.  
  
Ren said “ we can both do it, it is partly the way and partly ourselves” he came back down again “but the game, we place the balls at different heights and you see how high you can throw a smaller ball” he held up a small one “the balls glow when you hit them….our people they used to use their voices too”.  
  
“Ok,” said Kimmie.  
  
Rik grinning used the Way to make all the balls rise from the ground “they're also tuned so when you hit them they let out a note, Ren…he can make them sing”.  
  
Ren said, “ yeah I can, here I will show you”.  
  
Rik nodded “ready? Play the five tones!”  
  
Ren nodded and started to sing “ _Do, Do, Ra, Mi, Sol, do, re, mi, Sol, La_ ” he raised his arms and started to sing in earnest making the crystal balls glow.  
  
“Wow!” Kayla said.  
  
“As I said, Ren, he _sings_ ,” said Rik.  
  
“It’s beautiful!” said Kimmie as Ren had started to sing another tune.  
  
“He doesn’t have the power that some others of our kind do or even our original power we had as One being, but it suffices,” said Rik.  
  
“Can you sing?” Kimmie asked.  
  
“Kinda, but my voice, it lacks the power, Ren got what was left of that,” said Rik “I do play keyboard though, and Ren is pretty good on a guitar or a flute, our original people, now **they** could sing!”  
  
Ren nodded “Rik’s right but we were showing you how to play the game”.  
  
Rik nodded “ basically you try to get the ball as high as you can and if you can throw it in such a way that it hits a couple of others and makes a tune, our original people. They did it with their minds and their voices, something like so” Rik concentrated making the smaller ball float up and under Rik’s excellent control, the ball bounced from crystal to crystal making a tune, Ren hummed.  
  
“You really **can** use the Force!” Kim said amazed to Rik.  
  
Rik chuckled “ did you doubt my ability to do so Kimi?” he asked.  
  
“Well,….”.  
  
“I’m as good as Ren is with it, in many ways, I’m just different that’s all, it is a tool I have, so I use it as such mostly, Ren is the one who contemplates on it”.  
  
Ren nodded “Rik is good on the Way too, it’s just that he tends to use it more as a tool”.  
  
“Isn’t that kinda well… _wrong_ though?” Kimi asked, “I mean River uses her similar as well but then she’s not an Adept”.  
  
“No,” said Ren.  
  
Rik said “I got it, so I _use_ it” he grinned “Ren show them how the game is played”.  
  
Ren nodded “ although they didn’t call it ‘ _play_ ’ it was seen more as an educational tool…you know how they are”.  
  
“No wonder we rebelled! And blew something up, **including** ourselves! “ Rik said with a chuckle “RikRen… **NOT** a model citizen, **crikey**! I can hardly remember been RikRen! I mean how _young_ were we?”  
  
“Me either, and fairly young,” said Ren “but I _do_ remember this” he started to hum and to use his mind making the balls flare up again and hit all ten of the crystal balls, in turn, making a tune.  
  
Rik laughed and clapped his hands and River said: “that’s amazing!”  
  
Kimmie said, “ I can’t float things around though”.  
  
Rik said, “ then just throw the ball”.  
  
“Ok,” she said.  
  
Rik said, “ try to throw it in such a way it hits the other balls, like playing pool I guess”.  
  
Kimmie nodded and smiled “ now _**Pool**_ I can handle!”  
  
“Try using the same theory then,” said Rik.  
  
“Never get involved in a game of Pool with Rik,” said Ren “ he’s dam good at it! People tend to get scared off though if he’s clad in his robes though, but believe me, it is a skill and not only the Way that makes him good at it”.  
  
Rik said, “ yeah we have to set the pool table up in the rec room, I can see some long nights been whiled away by playing Pool”.  
  
Ren nodded “yes I packed our boardgames as well…Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Chess, Monopoly all our favourites”.  
  
“Do any of you play Tarok?” River asked.  
  
“Yep, we both do,” he said, “ be warned though we are both pretty good at it”.  
  
Ren nodded “ and I packed some books and art supplies if anyone has an artistic bent as I do”.  
  
“It’s why it took so long for us to pack stuff,” Rik said “ we packed a lot of our favourite stuff from home on the ship, I foresee some long flights so we might as well be _comfortable_ , this **isn’t** the Justice!” he paused “ Ren’s right though when he said the two of us are too used to our creature comforts…due to living on and working on the Justice all this time, we had everything we needed….so anyone else want a go”.  
  
Kayla said “ yes! Can I have a play!”.  
  
“Sure,” said Rik smiling at her and stepping aside “ go for it”.  
  
Kayla nodded and started to concentrate, the ball floated up and hit three of the Crystals.  
  
“Well done!” said Ren.  
  
Kayla said, “ I still bet you could make the mountains sing on Crasolia Master Ren”.  
  
“Or at least a cliff-face,” he said, “ never tried it, I know someone who can though”.  
  
“Who?” Kayla asked.  
  
“Someone who is a legend, and oddly enough he and his people are somewhat similar to our own, which kind of makes me wonder if we have a common ancestor,” said Ren.  
  
“Yeah,” said Rik “ legends can indeed live forever” he paused “try it again Kayla” Kayla nodded and concentrated and bounced the ball between three of them.  
  
“Nice try” said Ren.  
  
“Thanks”.  
  
Ren said “ watch this” and he concentrated and before their eyes he made all ten of them glow and play a tune.  
  
“Wow!” said Kimmie “but you don’t need to do it that way, seeing you can sing to make them do that”.  
  
Ren laughed “ yes, but it is good to practise, it keeps your edge, Kayla have another go!”  
  
Kayla nodded eager, to have a chance to practise and ‘ _play_ ’ with her enhanced powers and managed to make five sing.  
  
“Good go,” said Ren “ ok try it like this” he put a blindfold around his own eyes and before their amazed eyes, he made them all sing again, his aim was perfect.  
  
“Wow!” Kimmie said, “ **I’m** impressed!”  
  
Rik nodded “ he always impresses even me when he does that!”  
  
“You just don’t practise enough,” said Ren “I bet if you did, you could do it as well as I”.  
  
Rik said “ Nah think I’m to action-orientated, to restless".  
  
Ren took the blindfold off and said, “ try it, Kayla, with the blindfold, you too River”.  
  
Kayla nodded eager to try and put it on, Kimmie said: “ how is she supposed to see where she aims the ball?”  
  
“Watch,” said Ren “Ok Kayla concentrate, **feel** the balls, you don’t have to be perfect at it, just the best you can”.  
  
Kayla nodded and picked up the ball and threw it, hitting two and then a third, they all chimed even if a little out of tune.  
  
Rik and Ren both clapped and Rik took the blindfold off and nodded “well-done Apprentice!”  
  
“How?” Kimmie asked.  
  
“The Force or the Way!” said River “ here let me try!”  
  
Ren nodded and put the blindfold on her and said: “ try”.  
  
River did so, concentrating her own somewhat untrained gift, it was wayward at times and she felt one of them correct her somewhat, probably Ren but as they all watched, she hit two and glanced a third.  
  
“Well done!” said Rik.  
  
Ren nodded, reclining in his chair drinking his tea and said “ well shot!” and then remmarked “ you do need some training though River, I could feel it getting away from you, that could be dangerous, that’s why I corrected you,”.  
  
River said “it’s a little um… _wayward_ sometimes”.  
  
Ren nodded “ you are quite strong, so picture it as a river, a river flows, it changes but it is always steady. Rik and I had a little trouble with it at first, when we first came here, as our first night here showed us, so maybe this will help, picture your mind as a deep pool, I can teach you some meditation tricks that may help you”.  
  
Rik said with a toothy grin “ you know what, that kind of suits you to Ren!”  
  
Ren said, “I’m not **that** wise!” he frowned at his counterpart.  
  
Rik said, “ wiser than I’m at any rate!”  
  
“No, you are wise too in your way Rik, we can’t help NOT to be!” Ren said.  
  
“You **both** strike me as wise,” said Kimmie then.  
  
“You are wise Master Ren! Master Rik!” said Kayla then “ especially you Master Ren!”  
  
Ren said “ there are those…wiser, Rik and I, we’re young still”.  
  
Riks said “ Ren’s right, there are those far wiser than either of us, Master Ondrina comes to mind, we owe her and the Justice so much!” he paused “ so Kayla want to try again”.  
  
Kayla nodded and for the rest of the evening, they spent it playing the game until the girls got tired and decided to call it and retired, leaving Rik and Ren in the kitchen/Galley together.  
  
Ren put the crystal balls away in the box, they had cost a fair bit to make and Rik pulled out the chess set he had made (it wasn’t only Ren who was artistically inclined) and set it up for them, the ship had a rec room but they hadn’t set it up properly yet and Ren said “ tea?”  
  
Rik nodded, “white or black,” he asked his counterpart indicating the chess set.  
  
“White” said Ren.  
  
Rik nodded and set up as Ren joined him and poured them both a warm, calming tea, knowing Rik was as shook up as he was from the last two days events, he just handled it differently.  
  
Rik said, “ thanks Ren, I know I haven’t shown it as much, but you’re not the only one who has found the last two days taxing”.  
  
Ren nodded “I know, you’re not as happy go lucky, or as laid back as you appear, like me you use it as a shield like I use my professionalism I’m surprised you haven’t broken down either” he paused “it has been very hard and taxing for us both”.  
  
“Yeah” Rik agreed “I know people think I’m well….not like you, but the truth of the matter Ren, there have been a couple of times over the last two days that I have almost curled up into a ball, shaking or crying, this is… well, not _exactly_ what I had in mind for our first trip out as Freelancers”.  
  
Ren chuckled “yeah but we also didn’t intend to blow ourselves up so many years ago either!”  
  
“True,” said Rik, “ say do you even remember how we did that?”  
  
Ren chuckled “ we were attempting something we probably shouldn’t have been trying to attempt an experiment, unsanctioned and unsupervised I think”.  
  
Rik nodded “ I can’t remember much more after that, apart from light and pain and feeling like I had died…. Apart from waking up on that beach on Saris and attacking you and you surprisingly attacking me back mirroring my skills”.  
  
Ren nodded “ I’m tainted by darkness just like you are Rik, and we both still bear the burn scars and scars from that night, I still see us in my mind's eyes sometimes, newly born, our skin smooth, soft, unmarked and gleaming apart from our racials …we have come a long way since then, Rik, but we both still have a long way to go, we are still naïve in the ways of the world, geez have you even gotten well… _intimate_?”  
  
“No,” said Rik “ come close though, you?”  
  
“No,” said Ren.  
  
Rik said, “I’ve come close, but no, not yet, I don’t think I’m ready”.  
  
Ren nodded “same here,”.  
  
“Do you think we’ll know, if well one of us do?” Rik said.  
  
“Possibly,” Ren said, looking at the chessboard “Rook to your knight” and moved his piece.  
  
**_“_** _Hmm_ ** _….bold_** move,” Rik said and responded in kind and for a few hours more they did just that, played chess, and when they got tired, Ren put the board carefully away just as it was so he and Rik could pick it up again.  
  
“Night Ren” Rik said.  
  
“Night Rik,” said Ren as they went to their separate rooms, which were next door to each other, within moments the ship was quiet, and Sera put it on sleep mode.


	17. The Storm Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saris Prime Observation station- The Serendipity
> 
> An attack begins, and Rik and Ren show a bit of their mysterious heritage

**R** en sat bolt upright in bed in the early hours of the morning when he felt the ship shake.  
  
“What the?” Ren said getting out of bed, forgetting that he was practically naked and ran to the flight deck, Ren wasn’t fast, but he could run.  
  
Rik was also up there, of course, looking out of the windows and looked up as his counterpart came in.  
  
“What’s going on?” Ren asked.  
  
“I think it is another storm down on the planet,” said Rik.  
  
“It shook the ship!” Ren said.  
  
“it’s a bad one,” said Rik putting the headset on “it shook the entire docking ring, let’s see if I can pinpoint the location” concentrating he closed his eyes and used the interface to create a 3D image of the planet and moved it around purely by thought, and Ren whistled “that storm is as big as the station!”  
  
Rik nodded “yeah and it is moving fast! We can sense it and track it due to our sensitivity to the Way; it’s almost unnatural”.  
  
“Maybe it is,” said Ren pulling on the spare headset, the ship had two adjusting it slightly around his pointed ears, he and Rik both had points on their ears “the T’ron do fly what is known as ‘Stormships’”, and then Ren added “I will see if I can sense anything” he closed his eyes and reaching out, connecting with the storm, he felt Rik join him.  
  
The more powerful Masters could project themselves across millions of light years and even fight like that, and noone could usually tell that they were a projection.  
  
Rik and Ren weren’t that powerful yet, but they could project themselves for short distances, together and apart, they figured that it was another offshoot from the Celestial being they had once been and they could also merge themselves temporarily into one being, but that presently wasn’t what they were doing, as they appeared floating in the storm.  
  
“Quite possibly a Storm ship,” said Ren.  
  
Rik nodded “ worth investigating though this storm ain’t fully natural”.  
  
“Yeah” Ren agreed.  
  
Rik nodded and looked at Ren “ dare we?” he asked.  
  
Ren knew what he meant, their ability with the Way allowed them to merge briefly back into RikRen and basically ‘ _Force walk_ ’ as Rikren, but it gave them a kind of protection, but it wasn’t something they did often though.  
  
Ren nodded “RikRen,” he said taking Rik's hands, and a glow surrounded them both, enhanced by the enhancer, it was a lot smoother, Ren always initiated it as he was the stronger and the most connected to the Way.  
  
“RikRen” said Rik as light surrounded them both and once cleared they were an ethereal looking glowing being.  
  
“Ok remember we can’t keep this up for too long,” the part that was Ren said, adjusting himself to his new form “this always feels strange” he remmarked and using his ability to float he entered the storm, shielding himself and focusing.  
  
Once he was focused, he steadied himself and opening his senses, pausing he focused and his sword appeared.  
  
“One with the Force and the Way,” he said quietly to himself “RikRen” he grinned and spun around enjoying the freedom, making a few experimental swings with his sabre and then discharged it “ now to investigate”.  
  
He paused as he felt a presence and started to pinpoint it and frown as he sensed menace and then said: “ so **that’s** how they did it!”  
  
He followed the signals and came across an alarming sight, a ship, he didn’t immediately recognise hung above the other mining platform, but judging from the rumours it was probably one of the so-called ‘ _Stormships_ ’ the ships the T’ron had that could fly around inside a storm and provided one themselves and he realised that was what he was probably looking at, dark human figures also seemed to be dropping out of the ship as well in suits and on small platforms down towards the mining station, seeing it was within the atmosphere of Saris Prime, knowing the T’ron were related to the Dorenganza and themselves, ( a powerful, and somewhat still mysterious shapeshifting race) no doubt the T’ron could adapt themselves to their surroundings as they could.  
  
RikRen backed up, hiding in the storm using the Way to camouflage himself and then and there decided on a course of action, letting the part of him that was Rik take over.  
  
“I gotta warn the station!” he said “ and there is no time to waste!” so he propelled himself to the station still as RikRen.  
  
 **O** ne of the Docking Rings patrolmen was surprised and surprised when there was a golden white flash and a tall, celestial looking alien being dressed in the robes of a Jedaini Knight and holding a double-bladed lightsword appeared in front of him, his mane of long brown-red hair blew out around him and seemed to be a mix of light and hair and his blue eyes glowed.  
  
“Err,” he said backing up as a tall, shining alien being who looked a bit like what was known as an ‘Angel’ floating slightly above the surface of the docks down near Docking ring 4, where the Sunrise called the Serendipity was docked.  
  
The Patrolman didn’t know what to think and wondered if he was seeing one of the so-called ‘ _ghosts_ ’ that was said to haunt the docks.  
  
“We must warn the Head of the Station” the being said with surprisingly a Sarisian accent discharging his lightsabre, he had golden skin with two arms and five long fingers and was very Angelic looking.  
  
“Err um”.  
  
“It’s a matter of life and death” the strange being continued “Mining Platform 2 it has been boarded and attacked by the T’ron as we speak, they have a Stormship”.  
  
“Um….Ok” said the man “Err what are you? Are you an angel or something? or one of the ghosts that are said to haunt the docks?”  
  
“My names RikRen and I’m neither of those” the strange being said.  
  
“You’re a Jadaini Knight!” he said astounded.  
  
“Yes,” he said, “look you need to take me to the Head of Security, or pass my message on, it’s urgent, you need to do something about this and quickly!”  
  
“Um ok, follow me,” he said, “ err if you can, as a member of the Order you’ll get priority”.  
  
RikRen nodded “good”.  
  
“Follow me,” said the Guard.  
  
RikRen nodded and did so and was led to the main security office and a man dressed in a uniform looked up as Rikren’s light lit up the room as he walked in.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Marshal this Jadaini Knight says he has some news to share and that it is urgent”.  
  
“Very well,” he said.  
  
RikRen said, “I apologise for the intrusion Marshal but Mining Platform 2 is being boarded this very moment by the T’ron”.  
  
“And you know this…how?” he asked.  
  
“Marshal he’s a _Jedaini_! How do you **think** he knows?” said another person.  
  
“I sensed it,” he said, “ and saw it”.  
  
“He **is** a member of the Jedaini Order Marshal,” said the Guard.  
  
“Please just take my words for it, Marshal,” said RikRen “ and send someone down there, so we don’t lose more lives”.  
  
“Sir he may be right, there does seem to be some unusual storm activity gathered around Mining platform Two” reported someone else “ and as odd as those of the Order are, they are usually good at their word”.  
  
“Trust me,” said RikRen, he indicated the comms unit “ any moment now a distress call will come through that speaker that they are under attack”.  
  
“How do you” and suddenly a red light flashed, and an alarm went off.  
  
“Mining platform two,” said the other person turning a speaker on and a voice came over the speaker “ ** _please! This is mining platform two! We are under attack from the T’ron; I repeat we are under attack! Please send someone down here!”  
_** _  
_RikRen went to the comms unit and said, “ this is the station we hear you, Consular Rikren speaking here, how many?”  
  
“ ** _We can’t tell you! They have a ship above us, one of those ‘_ _Stormships_ _’ I think, we have little defence against a starship we need someone down here now!”_** there was the sound of gunfire in the background.  
  
The Marshal spoke then “ this is Marshal Henderson, we have heard you and are deploying fighters as soon as we can, how many of you are on the platform?” he looked at RikRen who nodded.  
  
“ ** _It’s the Nightshift so about 50, maybe 60, please come as soon as you are able, we will try to hold out onto then, but we have little defence and won’t_ _be able to do so for a long period_** ” was the answer.  
  
“I’m hitting the alert, “ said another person “ tell them we are deploying forces **now**!” the station shook.  
  
“Deploying forces now,” said the Marshal, he looked at RikRen “ seems you were right, is there any other Knights on the station?”  
  
“Not that I know off, but I could be wrong,” he said, “ but I do have my ship, I’ll join you in my starfighter”.  
  
“Ok,” he said “ meet with the other pilots as soon as you can” as RikRen vanished.


End file.
